Effect of albumin on the photodynamic inactivation of microorganisms by a cationic porphyrin

BACKGROUND: Photodynamic inactivation (PDI) employs visible light and a photosensitizer to inactivate cells. The technique is currently clinically used for the treatment of several malignancies. However, the PDI of microorganisms still remains in the research phase. PURPOSE: To study the effect of human blood plasma and human serum albumin (HSA) on the PDI of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans. METHODS: PDI experiments were performed using white light (30 mW cm-2) and the cationic 5-phenyl-10,15,20-tris(N-methyl-4-pyridyl)porphyrin chloride (TriP[4]) as photosensitizer. RESULTS: The microorganisms could be successfully photoinactivated by TriP[4] when suspended in phosphate buffered saline (PBS). In this medium, P. aeruginosa was the most resistant microorganism. Changing the suspending medium from PBS to human blood plasma reduced the PDI of all three microorganisms. In human blood plasma C. albicans was the most resistant microorganism. The same results were obtained with 4.5% and 7% HSA/PBS suspensions. CONCLUSIONS: Albumin inhibits the PDI of S. aureus, P. aeruginosa and C. albicans in a dose dependent manner. However, our results are encouraging towards the potential future application of PDI for the treatment of superficial wound infections caused by S. aureus, P. aeruginosa and C. albicans.     

Synthesis and physicochemical studies of metal complexes of ferrocene Schiff base derivatives

Two new Schiff bases were prepared by condensing acetylferrocene and 1,1′-diacetylferrocene with S-methyl- dithiocarbazate. Complexes of the two ligands acetylferrocene-1-hydrazono-S-methyldithiocarbazate HmaL and diacetylferrocene-1,1′-dihydrazono-S-methyldithio-carbazate H2daL, with copper(II), nickel(II) and cobalt(II) ions were isolated. The ligands coordinate to the metal ions through either their thioketone or thioenol forms. Both mono- and bis-ligand metal complexes as well as bis-metal complexes of the general formulae: [(H2daL)M]2+, [(daL)M], [(HmaL)2M]2+, [(maL)2M], [(HmaL)2MX2], [(H2daL)M2X4] and [(daL)M2X2] were prepared. All compounds under investigation were characterized and some of their physicochemical properties are reported. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effects of the degree of substitution on the physicochemical properties and photodynamic activity of zinc and aluminum phthalocyanine polycations

A series of zinc and aluminum phthalocyanines containing 3–8 pyridiniomethyl or cholinyl substituents on average were synthesized. As the number of cation substituents increased, in aqueous solutions, the aggregation ability of phthalocyanines decreased, while the quantum yields of fluorescence and singlet oxygen generation increased. The photodynamic inactivation of coliform bacteria sensitized by zinc and aluminum phthalocyanine polycations with an increase in the substitution degree became more effective. Original Russian Text ? D.A. Makarov, N.A. Kuznetsova, O.A. Yuzhakova, L.P. Savvina, O.L. Kaliya, E.A. Lukyanets, V.M. Negrimovskii, M.G. Strakhovskaya, 2009, published in Zhurnal Fizicheskoi Khimii, 2009, Vol. 83, No. 6, pp. 1183–1190.     

Chitosan nanoparticles for antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation: characterization and in vitro investigation

The growing resistance to antibiotics has rendered antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation (PDI) an attractive alternative treatment modality for infectious diseases. Chitosan (CS) was shown to further potentiate the PDI effect of photosensitizers and was therefore used in this study to investigate its ability to potentiate the activity of erythrosine (ER) against bacteria and yeast. CS nanoparticles loaded with ER were prepared by ionic gelation method and tested for their PDI efficacy on planktonic cells and biofilms of Streptococcus mutans, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans. The nanoparticles were characterized for their size, polydispersity index and zeta potential. No toxicity was observed when planktonic cells and biofilms were treated with the nanoparticles in the dark. However, when the cells were exposed to light irradiation after treatment with free ER or ER/CS nanoparticles, a significant phototoxicity was observed. The antimicrobial activity of ER/CS nanoparticles was significantly higher than ER in free form. The particle size and incubation time of the nanoparticles also appeared to be important factors affecting their PDI activity against S. mutans and C. albicans.     

Wheat germ agglutinin modified liposomes for the photodynamic inactivation of bacteria

Photodynamic inactivation (PDI) of bacteria is a promising approach for combating the increasing emergence of antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria. To further improve the PDI efficiency on bacteria, a bacteria-targeting liposomal formulation was investigated. A generation II photosensitizer (temoporfin) was incorporated into liposomes, followed by conjugation with a specific lectin (wheat germ agglutinin, WGA) on the liposomal surface. WGA was successfully coupled to temoporfin-loaded liposomes using an activated phospholipid containing N-hydroxylsuccinimide residue. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were selected to evaluate the WGA modified liposomes in terms of bacteria targeted delivery and in vitro PDI test. Fluorescence microscopy revealed that temoporfin was delivered to both kinds of bacteria, while flow cytometry demonstrated that WGA- modified liposomes delivered more temoporfin to bacteria compared to nonmodified liposomes. Consequently, the WGA- modified liposomes eradicated all MRSA and significantly enhanced the PDI of P. aeruginosa. In conclusion, the WGA- modified liposomes are a promising formulation for bacteria targeted delivery of temoporfin and for improving the PDI efficiency of temoporfin on both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial cells.     

Effect of cyclodextrins on the physicochemical properties of chlorophyll a in aqueous solution

The interactions between chlorophyll a and two beta-cyclodextrins, that have the same cavity size but different substituents, were studied in aqueous solutions. These supramolecular host-guest complexes were examined by a combination of UV/vis absorption, circular dichroism, NMR, and steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence measurements. The results indicate that all cyclodextrins solubilize the pigment mainly in monomeric form in water. The pigment forms 1:1 complexes with the heptakis(2,3,6-tri-O-methyl)-beta-cyclodextrin and 1:2 complexes with the hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin. In such complexes the methyl groups of the cyclodextrin inner cavity are involved in the interaction with the pigment as evidenced by NMR measurements. We also measured the luminescence of singlet oxygen photosensitized by chlorophyll a in the inclusion complexes.     

Photostability of bacteriochlorophyll a and derivatives: potential sensitizers for photodynamic tumor therapy

The photostabilities of bacteriochlorophyll a and several of its derivatives, which are of interest as potential sensitizers in photodynamic tumor therapy, were investigated. The pigments were irradiated with light >630 nm in organic solvents (acetone, tetrahydrofuran, pyridine, methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, 2-propanol and toluene) and in aqueous detergent solutions (cetyl-trimethyl-ammonium bromide [CTAB], lauryldimethyl-aminoxide [LDAO] or sodium dodecyl-sulfate [SDS] and Triton X-100 [TX100]). Their stabilities in these different solvents were determined in the presence and absence of an external sensitizer (pyromethyl-pheophorbide a), oxygen, sodium ascorbate and inert gas (Ar) or vacuum. The photodegradation products of bacteriochlorophyll a in acetone solution were isolated, purified by HPLC and analyzed by their absorption spectra and mass spectroscopy. Besides the well-known dehydrogenation products, such as [3-acetyl]-chlorophyll a, which were obtained as by-products, the major products had low absorption in the visible-near infrared spectral range. The spectral signature of the major component of these products was characteristic of linear open-chain tetrapyrroles, but they lacked the characteristic protonation-deprotonation behavior and reactivity of bilins with Zn(++).     

Two-photon spectroscopic behaviors and photodynamic effect on the BEL-7402 cancer cells of the new chlorophyll photosensitizer

The spectroscopic properties of a new chlorophyll derivate photosensitizer(CDP) are studied under the excitation wavelengths at 800 and 400 nm using femtosecond pulses from a Ti:sapphire laser.The damaging effect of CDP on the BEL-7402 cancer cells is also investigated upon two-photon illumination at 800 nm.The normalized fluorescence spectra of CDP in tetrahydrofuran(THF) show that two-photon and one-photon spectra have the same distributions and the same emission bands(675 nm).The life-times of two-and one-photon induced fluorescence of this molecule are of the order of 5.0 ns.By comparing the data it is shown that there is some difference between the two lifetimes,but the differ-ence is less than one nanosecond.The two-photon absorption cross section of the molecule is also measured at 800 nm and estimated as about σ′2 ≈ 31.5×10-50 cm4·s·photon-1.The results of two-photon photodynamic therapy(TPPDT) tests show that CDP can kill all of the tested cancer cells according to the usual Eosine assessment.Our results indicate that the two-photon-induced photophysical,photo-chemical and photosensitizing processes of CDP may be basically similar to those of one-photon ex-citation.These behaviors of the sample suggest that one may find other possible methods to estimate some photosensitizers' effects in details such as their distribution in cells and the reactive targets of the sub-cellular parts of some tumor cells via two-photon excitation techniques.     

Effect of metal phthalocyanines on the synthesis and physicochemical properties of polyaniline

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Folic acid and its derivatives for targeted photodynamic therapy of cancer

The fundamentals of folic acid and folate receptors functioning in the body, changes in the expression level of folate receptors in carcinogenesis, as well as use of folic acid and its derivatives for targeted delivery of photosensitizers to tumors have been reviewed. The ways of increasing the efficacy of photodynamic therapy by creating multifunctional nanoplatforms that ensure both passive targeting and receptor-mediated internalization of photosensitizers in tumor cells have been discussed.     

Predictive power of long-range corrected functionals on the spectroscopic properties of tetrapyrrole derivatives for photodynamic therapy

Porphyrin and chlorin based compounds possess promising properties to be utilized as photosensitizers in photodynamic therapy (PDT). However, the photosensitizers available on the market today are not ideal for use in PDT, which has emphasized the need for new photosensitizers with improved photodynamic properties to be developed. Computational drug-design can be utilized in the search for improved pharmaceutical compounds, provided that the methods used are able to reproduce experimental data. In the present study we investigated, by the use of time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT), the performance of the long-range corrected functionals ωB97, ωB97X and ωB97XD on their ability to predict low-lying singlet excitations (>600 nm) of a set of well-known photosensitizing compounds. It was found that ωB97X reproduced the experimental red-most absorption band most satisfactorily. The use of either B3LYP, ωB97XD or M06 in geometry optimizations has a minor effect on the spectra in most cases. Calculated energy differences between the optimized singlet ground states and optimized first excited triplet states show consistent and overall higher triplet state energies for B3LYP, M06, and PBE0 compared with ωB97, ωB97X, and ωB97XD. The calculated triplet state energies are, however, sufficient to generate singlet oxygen in most cases.     

Anti‐neurotoxic evaluation of synthetic and characterized metal complexes of thiosemicarbazone derivatives

Quinoline‐2‐caboxyaldehyde thiosemicarbazone (HL¹) and quinoline ‐2‐caboxyaldehyde N‐dimethyl thiosemicarbazone (HL²) metal complexes were prepared and characterized using analytical and spectroscopic techniques. The measurements showed that ligands behave as monovalent or neutral tridentate ligands bonding via azomethine, quinoline ring nitrogen atoms and sulfur atoms in thiol or thion forms. The anti‐neurotoxic effect of ligands and their complexes showed that, exposure to aluminum increase oxidative stress in the brain, an effect that could be offset by concomitant thiosemicarbazone complexes. Complexes could be having an effect on absorption or excretion of aluminum, due to their chelating activity. These findings may shed light on the potential clinical importance of thiosemicarbazone complexes in Alzheimer's disease.     

Relationship between the structure and physicochemical characteristics of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline derivatives

A number of physicochemical characteristics of ten 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline derivatives synthesized for the first time, along with their third order Wiener and Randi? indices are calculated by quantum chemical methods. Correlations between the topological indices, physicochemical parameters, and retention factors of the mentioned compounds are obtained for conditions of reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography on porous graphitized carbon.     

Synthesis and use of ecologically pure metal-containing dyes based on chlorophyll derivatives

The problem of the use of a natural pigment, chlorophyll, as ecologically pure dye for textile fibers is discussed. The physicochemical principles of the synthesis of metalocontaining compounds based on chlorophyll derivatives used for development of chlorophyll and porphyrin dyes of new generation, which are more ecologically safe than the arene-based dyes.     

Liposome delivered and polymeric metal complexes as potential sensitizers for the photodynamic therapy of cancer

Different possibilities of macromolecular metal complexes as photosensitizers (PS) for their potential use in the photodynamic therapy of cancer are described. The prepared metal porphyrazin derivatives (metals: Zn(II), Si(IV)(X)₂) exhibit long wavelength absorption and high singlet oxygen quantum yields under irradiation. One possibility is the incorporation of the PSs in liposomal vesicles giving hydrophobic conjugates with low densitiy proteins in the serum after injection. Good tumor accumulation and photodynamic activities are observed. Increased tumor uptake is also known for Pcs covalently connected via the ligand to poly(ethylene glycol monomethyl ether). New compounds contain the hydrophilic polymer at axial substituents of Si(X)₂Pc and Si(X)₂Nc. Some newly synthesized compounds with only one functional group exhibit the possibility of coupling to macromolecules like e.g. monoclonal antibodies.     

Probing the active site of trypsin with rose bengal: insights into the photodynamic inactivation of the enzyme

In this work the active site of trypsin has been probed with the dye rose bengal. The dye binds competitively to the enzyme, and it can be used as a probe of the active site of the enzyme. On the basis of the emission wavelength, the binding site of trypsin is relatively polar and is similar to that of acetone in its polarity. The triplet state of rose bengal is quenched by trypsin. This quenching may be caused by the tryptophan and tyrosine residues that are in the near vicinity of the trypsin active site. This quenching can compete with the formation of singlet oxygen from the excited triplet state of rose bengal. We demonstrate that the singlet oxygen involved in the photoinactivation of trypsin is produced by the free rose bengal in solution and the bound dye is incapable of producing singlet oxygen. This explains the lack of correlation between photoinactivation efficiency and sensitizer binding capability previously reported by Wade and Spikes.     

Amino acid derivatives of pyropheophorbide-a ethers as photosensitizer: Synthesis and photodynamic activity

Ten new water-soluble amino acid conjugates of pyropheophorbide-a ethers 4a–4j were synthesized and investigated for their in vitro photodynamic antitumor activity. The results showed that all compounds exhibited higher phototoxicity and lower dark toxicity against three kinds of tumor cell lines than BPD-MA. In particular, the most phototoxic compound 4d and 4j individually showed IC_(50) values of 41 nmol/L and 33 nmol/L against HCT116 cell, which represented 7.8- and 9.7-fold increase of antitumor potency compared to BPD-MA, respectively, suggesting that they were promising photosensitizers for PDT applications because of their strong absorption at long wavelength(λ_(max) 650 nm), high phototoxicity, low dark cytotoxicity and good water-solubility.     

Synthesis and characterization of positively charged pentacationic [60]fullerene monoadducts for antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation

We designed and synthesized two analogous pentacationic [60]fullerenyl monoadducts, C??(>ME?N??C?) (1) and C??(>ME?N??C?) (2), with variation of the methoxyethyleneglycol length. Each of these derivatives bears a well-defined number of cationic charges aimed to enhance and control their ability to target pathogenic Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial cells for allowing photodynamic inactivation. The synthesis was achieved by the use of a common synthon of pentacationic N,N′,N,N,N,N-hexapropylhexa(aminoethyl)amine arm (C?N??) having six attached propyl groups, instead of methyl or ethyl groups, to provide a well-balanced hydrophobicity-hydrophilicity character to pentacationic precursor intermediates and better compatibility with the highly hydrophobic C?? cage moiety. We demonstrated two plausible synthetic routes for the preparation of 1 and 2 with the product characterization via various spectroscopic methods.