Organic Small Molecule Nanoparticles for Phototheranostics

Cancer is a global public health issue that is severely threatening human health. Efficient diagnostic and therapeutic methods are in great demand. Photosensitizer(PS)-enabled phototheranostics that integrate diagnosis and therapy into a single platform under near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation is superior to conventional surgery resection and chemotherapy in terms of noninvasiveness, minimal harm to normal tissues, and high spatial selectivity. With the merits of defined and easily-tuned chemical structure, good reproducibility, and excellent biocompatibility, organic small molecule dyes are promising PSs in phototheranostics as compared to their inorganic and polymeric counterparts. We herein summarize the recent advances of organic small molecules, including conventional small molecule dyes, donor-acceptor (D-A) conjugated small molecules, and aggregation-induced emission molecules (ATEgens) , organic small molecule nanoparticles (OSMNs) in phototheranostics. The future challenges and perspectives of OSMNs in phototheranostics are also discussed.