A new photosensitizer consisting of ammonium salt, TMP⁽⁺⁾ was synthesized and achieved the synergistic effect of photodynamic and chemical antibacterial activity. Experiments showed promising bactericidal properties, while accelerating the healing of Staphylococcus aureus infected mice.

Unimolecular reduction and bimolecular reductive coupling of carbon monoxide (CO) represent important ways to synthesize organic feedstocks. Reductive activation of CO through open-shell pathways, though rare, can help overcome the barriers of many traditional organometallic elementary reactions that are hard to achieve. Herein we successfully achieve the unimolecular reduction of CO to (TPP)RhCH₂OSiR¹R²R³ (TPP = 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin), and the release of products CH₃OSiR¹R²R³, TEMPO-CH₂OSiR¹R²R³ and BrCH₂OSiR¹R²R³ in near-quantitative yield under visible light (420–780 nm), which involves radical formation from Rh-C bond homolysis. Bimolecular CO reductive coupling products, (TPP)RhCOCH₂OSiR¹R²R³, are then obtained via a radical mechanism. Subsequent treatment with n-propylamine, BrCCl₃ or TEMPO under thermal or photochemical conditions afford small-molecule bimolecular reductive coupling products. To the best of our knowledge, homogeneous systems which reductively couple CO under photochemical conditions have not been reported before. Here, the use of an open-shell transition metal complex, that delivers more than one kind of small-molecule CO reductive coupling products bearing different functional groups, provides opportunities for useful CO reductive transformations.

The mitochondria act as the main producers of reactive oxygen species (ROS) within cells. Elevated levels of ROS can activate the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, leading to cell apoptosis. In this study, we devised a molecular prodrug named CTT₂P, demonstrating notable efficacy in facilitating mitochondrial apoptosis. To develop nanomedicine, we enveloped CTT₂P within bovine serum albumin (BSA), resulting in the formulation known as CTT₂P@B. The molecular prodrug CTT₂P is achieved by covalently conjugating mitochondrial targeting triphenylphosphine (PPh₃), photosensitizer TPPOH₂, ROS-sensitive thioketal (TK), and chemotherapeutic drug camptothecin (CPT). The prodrug, which is chemically bonded, prevents the escape of drugs while they circulate throughout the body, guaranteeing the coordinated dispersion of both medications inside the organism. Additionally, the concurrent integration of targeted photodynamic therapy and cascade chemotherapy synergistically enhances the therapeutic efficacy of pharmaceutical agents. Experimental results indicated that the covalently attached prodrug significantly mitigated CPT cytotoxicity under dark conditions. In contrast, TPPOH₂, CTT₂, CTT₂P, and CTT₂P@B nanoparticles exhibited increasing tumor cell-killing effects and suppressed tumor growth when exposed to light at 660 nm with an intensity of 280 mW cm⁻². Consequently, this laser-triggered, mitochondria-targeted, combined photodynamic therapy and chemotherapy nano drug delivery system, adept at efficiently promoting mitochondrial apoptosis, presents a promising and innovative approach to cancer treatment.