Improving photodynamic therapy efficacy in bladder cancer using polymer micelle-encapsulated pheophorbide a.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) is widely used in bladder cancer management, enabling fluorescence-guided detection of lesions through intravesical administration of photosensitizers such as hexaminolevulinate (Cysview®/Hexvix®). Building on this clinical framework, we explored photodynamic therapy (PDT) using pheophorbide a (pheo), a chlorophyll-based photosensitizer, encapsulated in self-assembled poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PEO₅₀₀₀-PCL₄₀₀₀) micelles.

Results

In vitro assays were performed on human bladder cancer cell lines, namely the grade 3 invasive T24 and the grade 1 SW780, in both 2D monolayers and 3D spheroid cultures. In 2D, encapsulated pheo showed higher phototoxicity (IC₅₀: 129 nM T24, 156 nM SW780), while free

SUBMITTER: Labroy M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12903199 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature