Abhay H. Pande, Jayeeta Bhaumik and colleagues in India demonstrate the potential of lignin-based, nanobody-functionalized nanoparticles as a sustainable and effective platform for targeted photodynamic cancer therapy.
Their work presents a lignin-based “nanophotobody” for targeted photodynamic therapy of breast cancer. Rose Bengal was encapsulated in lignin nanoparticles and functionalized with an anti-EGFR nanobody (7D12) to enable selective recognition of EGFR-expressing cancer cells. The resulting Nb@RB-LNPs showed good stability, approximately 93% nanobody conjugation efficiency, and efficient singlet oxygen generation (ΦΔ ≈ 0.71). The nanophotobody showed stronger binding to EGFR-overexpressing MDA-MB-468 cells than non-targeted nanoparticles and generated higher intracellular ROS following green-light irradiation. This translated into enhanced photodynamic cytotoxicity, with an IC₅₀ of approximately 3.65 μg mL⁻¹ under light compared with 18.2 μg mL⁻¹ in the dark. Importantly, the formulation showed negligible cytotoxicity toward normal HEK-293 cells. Overall, the work demonstrates the potential of lignin-based nanoassemblies as sustainable and selective platforms for light-activated cancer therapy.
This study demonstrates that lignin can serve as an effective and selective delivery vehicle for photodynamic therapy. Conjugation with an EGFR-specific nanobody enabled selective recognition of EGFR-expressing breast cancer cells and enhanced the delivery and photodynamic activity of Rose Bengal. The targeted system generated higher ROS and showed stronger light-induced cancer cell inhibition while remaining well-tolerated by normal cells. This highlights the potential of lignin-based nanoparticles as versatile carriers for developing more selective and effective PDT strategies.
Read the full article:
Kshitij Rawat, Prakash Y. Khandave, Yeddula Nikhileshwar Reddy, Anil Kumar Pujari, Abhay H. Pande and Jayeeta Bhaumik
RSC Pharm., 2026, 3, 1413–1425.
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