Fig. 7
Light-triggered hypoxia-activated PDT by a theranostic liposomal formulation. A PEGylated liposome encapsulates Ce6 as a photosensitizer, a prodrug named Tirapazamin as a hypoxia-activated chemotherapeutic agent, and a gene probe for detecting intracellular miRNA biomarkers. Upon laser irradiation, hypoxia is induced, leading to the disintegration of the liposome contents and activation of Tirapazamin for improved cancer cell killing. The gene probe also serves as a detection marker for revealing oncogenic intracellular miRNA biomarkers (Zhang et al. 2018). License code: 5462990833134)