The Roles of Photodynamic Therapy in Tumors and Cancers

Dear Colleagues,

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has evolved as a promising therapeutic option for cancerous and non-cancerous diseases. It involves the combination of a photosensitizer (PS), light with an appropriate wavelength, and molecular oxygen (³O2). Upon irradiation, the excited PS transfers energy to the surrounding ³O2 to generate cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS), especially singlet oxygen (¹O2), which attacks key structural entities within the targeted cells, ultimately resulting in cell necrosis or apoptosis. Compared with conventional cancer treatments, PDT has displayed some potential advantages such as minimal invasiveness, low drug resistance, broad-spectrum antitumor activity, and high spatiotemporal selectivity, which have stimulated extensive studies of this promising treatment modality. 

This Special Issue aims to present recent novel developments in PDT against cancers. The original research manuscripts and comprehensive reviews focus on the mechanism of PDT, the discovery of new photosensitive molecules, immuno-PDT, and the strategies to enhance PDT outcomes are especially welcome.  

Prof. Dr. Jianyong Liu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• photodynamic therapy
• PDT
• photodetection
• photosensitizers
• photosensitizing agents
• reactive oxygen species
• molecular mechanisms
• cell necrosis
• apoptosis
• singlet oxygen
• synergetic therapy
• combination therapy
• delivery vehicles
• immunophototherapy
• nano-photosensitizer