REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Translational Pharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1667812
Targeted Photodynamic Therapy: Enhancing Efficacy through Specific Organelle Engagement
Provisionally accepted
- 1The People’s Hospital of Danyang, Affiliated Danyang Hospital of Nantong University, Danyang 212300, China, China
- 2School of Pharmacy, Nantong University, Nantong, China
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Photodynamic therapy (PDT) induces cancer cell death by utilizing photosensitizers to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon light irradiation, which in turn trigger oxidative stress. However, the therapeutic efficacy of PDT is constrained by the short lifetimes and limited diffusion range of ROS, resulting in suboptimal outcomes and off-target effects. Specific organelle targeting, facilitated by rationally engineered photosensitizers and nanoplatforms with precise drug delivery capabilities that activate organelle-mediated cell death pathways, can maximize localized oxidative damage, enhance therapeutic efficacy, and minimize systemic toxicity. This review synthesizes advancements in organelle-targeted PDT, focusing on critical subcellular compartments (e.g., mitochondria, lysosomes, nuclei, cell membranes, ribosome, endoplasmic reticulum, golgi apparatus, autophagosome). It systematically summarizes the structural characteristics, design strategies, targeting mechanisms, and therapeutic effects of these organelle-targeted systems, with particular emphasis on organelle-mediated cell death signaling pathways. Ultimately, current challenges, prospective opportunities, and future research directions in organelle targeting are delineated, providing a strategic framework to advance organelle-targeted PDT toward precision therapy.
Keywords: Photodynamic therapy, Photosensitizers, Reactive Oxygen Species, Cellular organelles, subcellular organelles targeting
Received: 17 Jul 2025; Accepted: 11 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Tao, Yuan and Zhou. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mengjiao Zhou, School of Pharmacy, Nantong University, Nantong, China
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