Photovoltaic therapy: Conceptual nanoscopic photovoltaic device for transporting chemotherapeutic drugs

Chemotherapeutic drugs can cause various side effects including cardiotoxicity, anemia, and pulmonary fibrosis. These side effects result from the reactions of the chemotherapeutic drugs with non-target locations in the body. One way of decreasing these side effects is by designing and using a new drug delivery system (DDS). The DDS must have the following attributes: (i) zero premature drug release in order to prevent an accidental initiation of side effects; (ii) the ability to transport chemotherapeutic drugs effectively in order to have high drug efficacy; (iii) high biocompatibility for proper functioning inside the body, and (iv) high exertion rates to prevent toxicity. These requirements can be satisfied through the design and application of photovoltaic therapy (PVT). PVT is the application of nanoscopic photovoltaic devices (NPVDs) to transport chemotherapeutic drugs to tumors. The NPVD can be a hetero-junction having mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) as the p-type material and single-crystalline silicon <;111> as the n-type material. The NPVD contacts can either be titanium or heavily doped p
⁺
or n
^-
polysilicon. Nano imprinting lithography techniques can be used to delineate individual NPVD. The NPVDs can be coated with polyethylene glycol, CD47, urea receptor, and glucose in order to increase the DDS's efficacy. Novel mechanisms such as drug retractability and tactical insertion are introduced in our approach to enhance the functioning and administration of the NPVDs. The electrical properties of the NPVD were modeled using a personal computer 1-dimensional (PC1D) simulator. Current and voltage were obtained from this simulation, indicating that the NPVD design is functional and will potentially be applicable to chemotherapy.