Sulfur-triphenylamine engineered zinc phthalocyanine nanotheranostics for dual-photon biosensing of lipid droplet dynamics in PDT-mediated autophagy-ferroptosis interaction

Qiuhao Ye; Liuwen Yu; Jingtang Wang; Congyi Peng; Kuizhi Chen; Yiru Peng; Fangmeng Fu

doi:10.1016/j.snb.2025.138497

Sulfur-triphenylamine engineered zinc phthalocyanine nanotheranostics for dual-photon biosensing of lipid droplet dynamics in PDT-mediated autophagy-ferroptosis interaction

Qiuhao Ye (Co-first Author), Liuwen Yu (Co-first Author), Jingtang Wang, Congyi Peng, Kuizhi Chen^*, Yiru Peng^*, Fangmeng Fu^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Linguistics and Translation

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

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Abstract

Lipid droplets (LDs), dynamic biomarkers of cell death pathways, present challenges for real-time spatiotemporal monitoring due to their rapid evolution. Herein, we report sulfur-triphenylamine engineered zinc phthalocyanine nanoparticles (ZnPcST NPs) as an innovative theranostic platform featuring 704 nm near-infrared (NIR) emission and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics. This platform enables deep-tissue imaging beyond the capabilities of conventional LDs probes and facilitates photodynamic therapy (PDT). ZnPcST NPs allow for two-photon fluorescence imaging to dynamically visualize LDs-lysosome interactions during autophagy and to monitor LDs proliferation during ZnPcST NPs-mediated ferroptosis in MCF-7 and BxPC-3 cells. Notably, we captured the formation of newly generated LDs adjacent to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) during ferroptosis, providing direct evidence supporting the ER-origin hypothesis of LDs biogenesis. Furthermore, the combination of NIR-I emission and AIE-enhanced reactive oxygen species generation allowed precise in vitro PDT under two-photon imaging guidance. These findings in vitro establish ZnPcST NPs as a promising nanotheranostic platform for elucidating LDs-related physiological-pathological mechanisms while advancing image-guided cancer therapy. © 2025 The Authors.

Original language	English
Article number	138497
Number of pages	15
Journal	Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical
Volume	444
Issue number	Part 1
Online published	13 Aug 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2025.138497
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2025

Funding

This work was supported by Natural Science Foundation of Fujian (2023Y0011, 2022J02038), and the Joint Funds of Fujian Provincial Health and Education Research (2019-WJ-23), Fujian Province's Key Project for Technological Innovation and Industrialization (University-Enterprise Joint Type) (2024XQ008).

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Research Keywords

Autophagy-ferroptosis interaction
Lipid droplets
Nanotheranostic probe
Photodynamic therapy
Zinc phthalocyanine

Publisher's Copyright Statement

This full text is made available under CC-BY-NC 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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title = "Sulfur-triphenylamine engineered zinc phthalocyanine nanotheranostics for dual-photon biosensing of lipid droplet dynamics in PDT-mediated autophagy-ferroptosis interaction",

abstract = "Lipid droplets (LDs), dynamic biomarkers of cell death pathways, present challenges for real-time spatiotemporal monitoring due to their rapid evolution. Herein, we report sulfur-triphenylamine engineered zinc phthalocyanine nanoparticles (ZnPcST NPs) as an innovative theranostic platform featuring 704 nm near-infrared (NIR) emission and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics. This platform enables deep-tissue imaging beyond the capabilities of conventional LDs probes and facilitates photodynamic therapy (PDT). ZnPcST NPs allow for two-photon fluorescence imaging to dynamically visualize LDs-lysosome interactions during autophagy and to monitor LDs proliferation during ZnPcST NPs-mediated ferroptosis in MCF-7 and BxPC-3 cells. Notably, we captured the formation of newly generated LDs adjacent to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) during ferroptosis, providing direct evidence supporting the ER-origin hypothesis of LDs biogenesis. Furthermore, the combination of NIR-I emission and AIE-enhanced reactive oxygen species generation allowed precise in vitro PDT under two-photon imaging guidance. These findings in vitro establish ZnPcST NPs as a promising nanotheranostic platform for elucidating LDs-related physiological-pathological mechanisms while advancing image-guided cancer therapy. {\textcopyright} 2025 The Authors.",

keywords = "Autophagy-ferroptosis interaction, Lipid droplets, Nanotheranostic probe, Photodynamic therapy, Zinc phthalocyanine",

author = "Qiuhao Ye and Liuwen Yu and Jingtang Wang and Congyi Peng and Kuizhi Chen and Yiru Peng and Fangmeng Fu",

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Sulfur-triphenylamine engineered zinc phthalocyanine nanotheranostics for dual-photon biosensing of lipid droplet dynamics in PDT-mediated autophagy-ferroptosis interaction. / Ye, Qiuhao (Co-first Author); Yu, Liuwen (Co-first Author); Wang, Jingtang et al.
In: Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, Vol. 444, No. Part 1, 138497, 01.12.2025.

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Sulfur-triphenylamine engineered zinc phthalocyanine nanotheranostics for dual-photon biosensing of lipid droplet dynamics in PDT-mediated autophagy-ferroptosis interaction

AU - Ye, Qiuhao

AU - Yu, Liuwen

AU - Wang, Jingtang

AU - Peng, Congyi

AU - Chen, Kuizhi

AU - Peng, Yiru

AU - Fu, Fangmeng

PY - 2025/12/1

Y1 - 2025/12/1

N2 - Lipid droplets (LDs), dynamic biomarkers of cell death pathways, present challenges for real-time spatiotemporal monitoring due to their rapid evolution. Herein, we report sulfur-triphenylamine engineered zinc phthalocyanine nanoparticles (ZnPcST NPs) as an innovative theranostic platform featuring 704 nm near-infrared (NIR) emission and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics. This platform enables deep-tissue imaging beyond the capabilities of conventional LDs probes and facilitates photodynamic therapy (PDT). ZnPcST NPs allow for two-photon fluorescence imaging to dynamically visualize LDs-lysosome interactions during autophagy and to monitor LDs proliferation during ZnPcST NPs-mediated ferroptosis in MCF-7 and BxPC-3 cells. Notably, we captured the formation of newly generated LDs adjacent to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) during ferroptosis, providing direct evidence supporting the ER-origin hypothesis of LDs biogenesis. Furthermore, the combination of NIR-I emission and AIE-enhanced reactive oxygen species generation allowed precise in vitro PDT under two-photon imaging guidance. These findings in vitro establish ZnPcST NPs as a promising nanotheranostic platform for elucidating LDs-related physiological-pathological mechanisms while advancing image-guided cancer therapy. © 2025 The Authors.

AB - Lipid droplets (LDs), dynamic biomarkers of cell death pathways, present challenges for real-time spatiotemporal monitoring due to their rapid evolution. Herein, we report sulfur-triphenylamine engineered zinc phthalocyanine nanoparticles (ZnPcST NPs) as an innovative theranostic platform featuring 704 nm near-infrared (NIR) emission and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics. This platform enables deep-tissue imaging beyond the capabilities of conventional LDs probes and facilitates photodynamic therapy (PDT). ZnPcST NPs allow for two-photon fluorescence imaging to dynamically visualize LDs-lysosome interactions during autophagy and to monitor LDs proliferation during ZnPcST NPs-mediated ferroptosis in MCF-7 and BxPC-3 cells. Notably, we captured the formation of newly generated LDs adjacent to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) during ferroptosis, providing direct evidence supporting the ER-origin hypothesis of LDs biogenesis. Furthermore, the combination of NIR-I emission and AIE-enhanced reactive oxygen species generation allowed precise in vitro PDT under two-photon imaging guidance. These findings in vitro establish ZnPcST NPs as a promising nanotheranostic platform for elucidating LDs-related physiological-pathological mechanisms while advancing image-guided cancer therapy. © 2025 The Authors.

KW - Autophagy-ferroptosis interaction

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KW - Nanotheranostic probe

KW - Photodynamic therapy

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DO - 10.1016/j.snb.2025.138497

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

SN - 0925-4005

VL - 444

JO - Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical

JF - Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical

IS - Part 1

M1 - 138497

ER -

Sulfur-triphenylamine engineered zinc phthalocyanine nanotheranostics for dual-photon biosensing of lipid droplet dynamics in PDT-mediated autophagy-ferroptosis interaction

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Research Keywords

Publisher's Copyright Statement

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