BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES OF PHTHALOCYANINES-X. SYNTHESES AND ANALYSES OF SULFONATED PHTHALOCYANINES

Abstract— Synthetic methods to obtain selectively sulfonated metallo phthalocyanines are compared. Both condensation and direct sulfonation procedures lead to mixtures of mono- to tetrasulfonated products which are resolved by reverse phase liquid chromatography in buffered aqueous-methanol. The proportion of sulfonated derivatives is examined as a function of the starting reagents in the case of the condensation method, and as a function of the temperature and reaction time in the case of the direct sulfonation procedure. The number of sulfonate groups per phthalocyanine molecule is determined by oxidative degradation of the phthalocyanine ring followed by quantitative chromatographic analysis of the sulfophthalamide and phthalamide fragments.     

SULFOPHTHALOCYANINES FOR PHOTODYNAMIC INACTIVATION OF VIRUSES IN BLOOD PRODUCTS: EFFECT OF STRUCTURAL MODIFICATIONS

Abstract— Transmission of infectious diseases through blood transfusions is well known. Ultraviolet irradiation, solvents and detergents provide a means of sterilizing noncellular blood components. However these harsh methods are not applicable to cellular blood products. Recently, attempts have been made to sterilize biological fluids using photodynamic treatment and phthalocyanine (Pc) dyes have been advanced as photosensitizers for this purpose. We have evaluated a series of water-soluble Pc, chelated with different central metal ions, substituted to different degrees with sulfonato and r-butyl groups, for their effectiveness to reduce virus infectivity in red blood cell suspensions. Vaccinia virus cytopathogenicity was determined by endpoint serial dilutions in the CV-1 cell line. Anti-viral activity increased with the central metal ion in the following order: Ga(III) < Al(III) < Zn(II), and varied inversely with the degree of sulfonation. Furthermore, addition of a t -butyl group onto the trisulfonated dyes (PcS₃[ t -Bul) resulted in a 5–40-fold increase in anti-viral potency, suggesting that amphiphilicity enhances the photodynamic activity of the dye. Strong anti-viral photosensitizing properties cannot be the sole selection criterion. Of equal importance is the preservation of blood component integrity. Accordingly, the photohemolytic activity of the dyes was evaluated using the rate of hemolysis as a parameter and a toxicity index was defined. Among the most active dyes, the AlPcS₃( t -Bu) complex exhibited the most favorable anti-viral properties combined with a low toxicity index. Our results suggest that trisulfophthalocyanines, bearing an additional t -butyl group to enhance amphiphilicity, are particularly promising dyes for photodynamic blood sterilization.     

Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography-thermospray mass spectrometry of radiation-induced decomposition products of thymine and thymidine.

High-performance liquid chromatography-thermospray mass spectrometry was applied to the analysis of various radiation-induced decomposition products of thymidine including N-(2-deoxy-beta-D-erythro-pentofuranosyl)formamide and the various diastereomers of 5,6-dihydroxy-5,6-dihydrothymidine, 5-hydroxy-5,6-dihydrothymidine and 5,6-dihydrothymidine. This method combines high sensitivity and product resolution, rendering it particularly useful for monitoring the formation of radiation-induced base damage within DNA.     

PHTHALOCYANINE-INDUCED PHOTOHEMOLYSIS: STRUCTURE-ACTIVITY RELATIONSHIP AND THE EFFECT OF FLUORIDE

Abstract— Phthalocyanine (Pc) containing AI, Ga or Zn as central metal ligand and substituted with a varying number of sulfonic acid residues as well as additional benzene rings were synthesized and their photodynamic activity was assayed using photohemolysis of human erythrocytes as an endpoint. The Pc derivatives vaned > 300-fold in their photodynamic activity. Activity corrclated with binding of the dye to the cell, with the exception of some of the amphiphilic dyes where cell uptake was an order of magnitude higher than expected from the observed activity. Fluoride was shown to inhibit AIPcS_n-induccd photohemolysis. This effect occurred also with other AlPc and GaPc derivatives, but the concentration of F required to slow photohemolysis by a factor of two (K_i) varied between 4 μ M and 10 mM. Fluorescence spectral studies indicated complex formation between F⁻ and the dye, which was stronger for AlPc than GaPc derivatives. Ultrastructural studies using scanning electron microscopy showed that the photosensitized cells were converted to spherocytes and that F⁻ prevented this to a large extent.     

In viva PHOTODYNAMIC EFFECTS OF PHTHALOCYANINES IN A SKIN-FOLD OBSERVATION CHAMBER MODEL: ROLE OF CENTRAL METAL ION AND DEGREE OF SULFONATION

Six sulfonated metallophthalocyanines, chelated with either aluminum or zinc and sulfonated to different degrees, were studied in vivo for their photodynamic activity in a rat skin-fold chamber model. The chamber, located on the back of female WAG/Rij rats, contained a syngeneic mammary carcinoma implanted into a layer of subcutaneous tissue. Twenty-four hours after intravenous administration of 2.5 μmol/kg of one of the dyes, the chambers received a treatment light dose of 600 J/cm² with monochromatic light of 675 nm at a power density of 100 mW/ cm². During light delivery and up to a period of 7 days after treatment, vascular effects of tumor and normal tissue were scored. Tumor cell viability was determined by histology and by reimplantation of the chamber contents into the skin of the same animal, either 2 h after treatment or after the 7 day observation period. Vascular effects of both tumor and subcutaneous tissue were strongest with dyes with the lowest degree of sulfonation and decreased with increasing degree of sulfonation. Tumor regrowth did not occur with aluminum phthalocyanine mono- and disulfonate and with zinc phthalocyanine monosulfonate. With the protocol that was used, complete necrosis without recovery was only observed when reimplantation took place at the end of the 7 day follow-up period. Reimplantation 2 h after treatment always resulted in tumor regrowth. At this interval, the presence of viable tumor cells was confirmed histologically. In general tumor tissue vasculature was more susceptible to photodynamic damage than vasculature of the normal tissue. The effect on the circulation of both tumor and normal tissue increased with decreasing degree of sulfonation. Based on this study, the photodynamic effects using the six sulfonated metallophthalocyanines on the vasculature can be ranked from high to low as: AlPcS₂= ZnPcS₁ > AIPcS₁ > AIPcS₄ > ZnPcS₂ > ZnPcS₄.     

Ring currents as probes of the aromaticity of inorganic monocycles : P5-, As5-, S2N2, S3N3-, S4N3+, S4N42+, S5N5+, S42+ and Se42+

Current-density maps were calculated by the ipsocentric CTOCD-DZ/6-311G** (CTOCD-DZ=continuous transformation of origin of current density-diamagnetic zero) approach for three sets of inorganic monocycles: S(4) (2+), Se(4) (2+), S(2)N(2), P(5) (-) and As(5) (-) with 6 pi electrons; S(3)N(3) (-), S(4)N(3) (+) and S(4)N(4) (2+) with 10 pi electrons; and S(5)N(5) (+) with 14 pi electrons. Ipsocentric orbital analysis was used to partition the currents into contributions from small groups of active electrons and to interpret the contributions in terms of symmetry- and energy-based selection rules. All nine systems were found to support diatropic pi currents, reinforced by sigma circulations in P(5) (-), As(5) (-), S(3)N(3) (-), S(4)N(3) (+), S(4)N(4) (2+) and S(5)N(5) (+), but opposed by them in S(4) (2+), Se(4) (2+) and S(2)N(2). The opposition of pi and sigma effects in the four-membered rings is compatible with height profiles of calculated NICS (nucleus-independent chemical shifts).     

Structure-Photodynamic Activity Relationships of a Series of 4-Substituted Zinc Phthalocyanines

Abstract— Radioiodinated zinc phthalocyanine including [¹²⁵I]ZnPcI₄ and differently sulfonated [⁶⁵Zn]ZnPcS (ZnPcS₄, ZnPcS₃, ZnPcS₂ and ZnPcS_1.75, a mixture of adjacent di and 25% mono) were prepared in order to study cell uptake and release kinetics in EMT-6 cells. The same compounds were evaluated for their in vitro phototoxicity and the biological parameters were compared to partition coefficients to arrive at quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR). At 1 μM in 1% serum, at 37°C, all dyes showed rapid cell uptake during the first hour followed by a slow accumulation phase. After 24 h, the highest cellular concentration was observed with the lipophilic ZnPcI₄, followed by the amphiphilic ZnPcS₂ and ZnPcS_1.75. The hydrophilic ZnPcS₄ and ZnPcS₃ showed lower uptake. Dye release from dyeloaded cells during incubation in dye-free medium could reach up to 60% and was shown to depend mainly on the amount of drug incorporated rather than the type of compound. These results suggest that care should be taken in interpreting dye toxicity data, which involve in vitro cell manipulations in dye-free medium, particularly during in vitro/in vivo protocols. The EMT-6 cell survival after 1 h or 24 h incubation with 1 μM dye in 1% serum followed by exposure to red light was assessed by means of the colorimetric 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Photocytotoxicities correlated inversely with the tendencies of the dyes to aggregate. Increased dye uptake by the cells also correlated with their activities, except for the lipophilic ZnPcI₄, which showed the highest cell uptake but little phototoxicity. The QSAR between phototoxicity and the log of the partition coefficients (phosphate-buffered saline and n-octanol) gave a parabola with optimal partition values corresponding to the adjacent sulfonated ZnPcS₂.     

Photodynamic properties of amphiphilic derivatives of aluminum tetrasulfophthalocyanine

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising treatment modality that has recently been accepted in clinics as a curative or palliative therapy for cancer and other nonmalignant conditions. Phthalocyanines (Pc) are attractive photosensitizers for PDT because of their enhanced photophysical and photochemical properties. The overall charge and solubility of Pc play a major role in their potential usefulness for PDT. A series of amphiphilic derivatives of tetrasulfonated aluminum Pc (AlPcS4) was prepared by substituting one of the four sulfonate groups with aliphatic side chains of 4, 8, 12 and 16 carbon atoms. The photodynamic properties of the derivatives were compared with those of AlPcS4 and the adjacent disulfonated aluminum Pc. Parameters studied included reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) retention times, capacity to generate singlet oxygen (1O2), in vitro cell uptake and phototoxicity, as well as PDT response of transplantable EMT-6 tumors in mice. The monomerized AlPcS4 derivatives showed similar or higher capacities to generate 1O2 as compared with the parent AlPcS4 as measured from relative L-tryptophan photooxidation yields. A549 cell uptake of the AlPcS4 derivatives decreased in the following order: AlPcS4(C16) > AlPcS4(C12) > AlPcS4(C8) > AlPcS4(C4). Human low-density lipoprotein at high concentrations (40 micrograms/mL) completely prevented uptake, whereas at 4 micrograms/mL uptake was decreased for the more lipophilic compounds and yet remained unaffected for the more hydrophilic dyes. Using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, A549 cell survival was assessed; it showed that photocytotoxic activity varied directly with the HPLC retention times, i.e. more hydrophilic compounds were less phototoxic. As 1O2 yields were similar for the four substituted AlPcS4 derivatives, it was postulated that the increased cytotoxic activity was caused by enhanced subcellular localization as a result of the long aliphatic side chains. These amphiphilic compounds proved to be photodynamically potent against the EMT-6 mouse mammary tumor model implanted in Balb/c mice. At dye doses of 0.2 mumol/kg and a fluence of 400 J/cm2 complete tumor regression was observed with no morbidity. The substitution of AlPcS4 with long aliphatic chains on the macrocycle greatly enhances its photodynamic efficacy both in vitro and in vivo.     

A Water-Soluble Iridium Photocatalyst for Chemical Modification of Dehydroalanines in Peptides and Proteins

Dehydroalanine (Dha) residues are attractive noncanonical amino acids that occur naturally in ribosomally synthesised and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs). Dha residues are attractive targets for selective late-stage modification of these complex biomolecules. In this work, we show the selective photocatalytic modification of dehydroalanine residues in the antimicrobial peptide nisin and in the proteins small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) and superfolder green fluorescent protein (sfGFP). For this purpose, a new water-soluble iridium(III) photoredox catalyst was used. The design and synthesis of this new photocatalyst, [Ir(dF(CF₃)ppy)₂(dNMe₃bpy)]Cl₃, is presented. In contrast to commonly used iridium photocatalysts, this complex is highly water soluble and allows peptides and proteins to be modified in water and aqueous solvents under physiologically relevant conditions, with short reaction times and with low reagent and catalyst loadings. This work suggests that photoredox catalysis using this newly designed catalyst is a promising strategy to modify dehydroalanine-containing natural products and thus could have great potential for novel bioconjugation strategies.