Graphene-Based Organic and Inorganic Hybrids for the Photodynamic Therapy

Recently, photodynamic therapy (PDT) has gained much interest as a non-invasive alternative to conventional cancer therapies. One of the main elements of PDT, photosensitizers (PS), is important in determining how this process will turn out. However, the poor tumour selectivity and low PS stability place a constraint on PDT. It is interesting to note that the PSs can be functionalized to graphene-based nanomaterials by electrostatic, van der Waals, or π–π stacking interactions for their improved stabilities and tumour targeting abilities. Graphene and its derivatives make the best platforms for the PS loading because of their extremely high surface areas. They also have strong near-infrared optical absorption and good therapeutic efficacy, which is advantageous for cancer photodynamic ablation. This book chapter summarizes the most recent developments in PDT based on graphene-based hybrid nanomaterials. It provides an overview of the functionalization of several organic and inorganic PSs on graphene for PDT. The biosafety of these hybrids for cancer treatment, future research directions, and potential solutions for the clinical success of this technology are also addressed.