Recent Advances in the Design of Targeted Iridium(III) Photosensitizers for Photodynamic Therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a noninvasive treatment for certain types of cancer, bacterial, fungal and viral infections, and skin diseases. In recent years, adaptation of this treatment so as to achieve more specific targeted cancer therapy in particular has attracted significant attention. We focus herein on the design of novel iridium-based photosensitizers (PSs) with tunable photophysical and photobiological properties as efficient PDT agents. We highlight the ability of some Ir-III photosensitizers to target specific cellular components, including their activation by one- and two-photon irradiation.