Synthesis of BODIPY conjugates towards multimodal therapeutic applicaitons

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising and developing strategy to treat various types of cancers. Either on its own, or combined with surgical interference, it provides easy treatment without destructive side effects of chemotherapy. Its success is straightly dependent on the presence of singlet oxygen (SO) in the tumor tissues. Upon the activation of the photosensitizer, SO gets produced, harming the surrounding tissues. The destructive effect can be increased by a simultaneous treatment with a cytotoxic cancer drug. In this project, we have combined a BODIPY photosensitizer and a Camptothecin (CPT) drug moiety with a (Z)-1,2-bis(alkyl-thio)ethane linker to produce a macromolecule with higher destructive power for tumors. Upon irradiation with a light source, it is expected of the BODIPY sensitizer to convert triplet ground state oxygen to singlet excited state, which then would react with the linker to release CPT.