Hybrid Nanosystems Based on Selenium Nanoparticles, Radachlorin, and Polymer Carriers (Graft Copolymers): Synthesis, Morphology, and Spectral Characteristics

The goal of the work is to create a new generation of highly effective antitumor drugs for photodynamic therapy (PDT), a method based on the interaction of light with a photosensitizer (PS), localized primarily in cancer-affected tissue, which leads to the formation of cytotoxic forms of oxygen and the death of cancer cells. Hybrid three-component nanosystems (HTNs) are synthesized based on selenium (Se0) nanoparticles (NPs), the photosensitizer Radachlorin (RC) and polymer carriers (PСs), i.e., graft copolymers with a polyimide or cellulose main chain and side chains of polymethacrylic acid (PMAA). Using ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy, the formation of a HTNs is proven, presumably due to the hydrophobic interactions of selenium NPs with the methyl groups of the PСs (1st stage), followed by the incorporation of Se0 NPs of the metal-porphyrin complex type inside the porphyrin ring of RС (2nd stage). For all studied HTNs, discrete spherical nanostructures with a diameter of DAFM = 80–400 nm are revealed by AFM. The synthesized HTNs are promising as photosensitive compounds for the treatment and diagnosis of oncological diseases by the PDT method.