FRET-Amplified Singlet Oxygen Generation by Nanocomposites Comprising Ternary AgInS$_2$/ZnS Quantum Dots and Molecular Photosensitizers

Abstract

Antibacterial photodynamic therapy (a-PDT) has emerged as a promising non-invasive therapeutic modality that utilizes the combination of a photosensitive agent, molecular oxygen, and excitation light to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), demonstrating remarkable activity against multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. However, the effective use of conventional photosensitizers is significantly limited by a number of their shortcomings, namely, poor water solubility and low selectivity. Herein, we present a novel biocompatible water-soluble nanocomposite based on hydrophobic tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) molecules and hydrophilic ternary AgInS$_2$/ZnS quantum dots incorporated into a chitosan matrix as an improved photosensitizer for a-PDT. We demonstrated that TPP molecules could be successfully transferred into chitosan solution while remaining primarily in the form of monomers, which are capable of singlet oxygen generation. We performed a detailed analysis of the F\"orster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between quantum dots and TPP molecules within the nanocomposite and proposed the mechanism of the singlet oxygen efficiency enhancement via FRET.