Activatable Type I Photosensitizer with Quenched Photosensitization Pre and Post Photodynamic Therapy

The phototoxicity of photosensitizers (PSs) pre and post photodynamic therapy (PDT), and the hypoxic tumor microenvironment are two major problems limiting the application of PDT. While activatable PSs can successfully address the PS phototoxicity pre PDT, and type I PS can generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) effectively in hypoxic environment, very limited approaches are available for addressing the phototoxicity post PDT. There is virtually no solution available to address all these issues using a single design. Herein, we propose a proof-of-concept on-demand switchable photosensitizer with quenched photosensitization pre and post PDT, which could be activated only in tumor hypoxic environment. Particularly, a hypoxia-normoxia cycling responsive type I PS TPFN-AzoCF₃ was designed to demonstrate the concept, which was further formulated into TPFN-AzoCF₃ nanoparticles (NPs) using DSPE-PEG-2000 as the encapsulation matrix. The NPs could be activated only in hypoxic tumors to generate type I ROS during PDT treatment, but remain non-toxic in normal tissues, pre or after PDT, thus minimizing side effects and improving the therapeutic effect. With promising results in in vitro and in vivo tumor treatment, this presented strategy will pave the way for the design of more on-demand switchable photosensitizers with minimized side effects in the future.     

A Cyanine-based Liposomal Nanophotosensitizer for Enhanced Cancer Chemo-Photodynamic Therapy

Currently, chemotherapy is one of the most important treatment modalities for malignant tumors in the clinic, however, it exhibits some shortcomings, such as poor selectivity, limited efficacy and serious adverse effects. Therefore, synergistic therapy and accurate drug delivery at tumor sites become a promising strategy for achieving tumor eradication. Herein, a smart NIR fluorescence imaging-guided nanoliposome was fabricated by encapsulating a chemotherapeutic drug(doxorubicin, DOX), liposomes(L) and a near-infrared(NIR) photosensitizer(CY) to form L@CY@DOX, which could realize enhanced therapeutic efficacy of chemo-PDT in cancer therapy(PDT=photodynamic therapy). L@CY@DOX can induce mitochondrial apoptosis and produce severe toxicity at the cellular level, and L@CY@DOX can enrich in the tumor site, which significantly induces tumor death. In vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that L@CY@DOX exhibited great antitumor efficacy compared with each one of these monotherapies, indicating that the combination of chemotherapy and PDT possessed potential development prospects and is anticipated in clinical application.     

Recent progresses on the development of thioxo-naphthalimides

Thioxo/dithioxo-naphthalimide is a class of rarely visited fluorophore, first synthesized in 1999. Facile chemistry was devised to achieve mono or dual thionation of the two carbonyl groups of 1,8-naphthalimide. Thionation effectively shifts absorption maximum to longer spectral wavelength, significantly increase absorption coefficients, and dramatically enhances intersystem crossing efficiency with respect to their oxo-analogues. They were first explored as potent photocleavers to induce DNA strand break and novel photosensitizers for photodynamic therapies. In recent years, the unique chemistry of thioxo groups has been harnessed to achieve new applications, such as fluorescent sensors for heave metal ions. These unique photochemical and photophysical characteristics revitalize them intriguing functional molecules to investigate. In this short review, we wish to revisit their first discovery, facile synthesis, and the endeavors on the use of thioxo/dithioxo-naphthalimides for novel chemical and biomedical applications.     

新光敏剂铝酞菁光化反应机制研究

使用ESR波谱技术研究铝酞菁光化反应,以2,2,6.6-四甲基-4-羟基哌啶醇为探针,探测光化反应的中间产物及反应机制,结果表明,反应体系中氮氧自由基的生成依赖于氧的存在,D_2O的增进效应及β-胡萝卜素的抑制效应表明铝酞菁光化反应产生了单线态氧(~1O_2),SOD及细胞色素C的部分抑制效应表明光化反应中有少量超氧阴离子自由基(O_2)生成。     

光敏剂亚甲蓝与不同溶剂的相互作用研究

应用光谱法研究了新光敏剂亚甲蓝在不同溶剂中的电子光谱特性，通过Ｋａｓｈａ理论推测了其在不同溶剂中二聚体的分子构造模式，其二聚体的面－面间距离为１．３４５～１．４２５ｎｍ，面间角为８２．９°～８７．５°确认由ＭｃＲａｅ式对亚甲蓝与不同溶剂间的相互作用下方式进行评价是可行的，提出了亚甲蓝在不同溶剂中分子间力的相互结合作用导致亚甲蓝在溶液中的结构变化，产生光谱差异的原因，阐述了溶液状态与选择性分子间力的     

9,12-Dibenzothiazolylhypericin and 10,11-Dibenzothiazolyl-10,11-didemethylhypericin: Photochemical Properties of Hypericin Derivatives Depending on the Substitution Site

Summary. Investigating the properties of similar but regioselectively differently substituted hypericin derivatives, 9,12-dibenzothiazolylhypericin was synthesized and compared with the recently prepared 10,11-analogue. A significant difference in the ability to generate singlet oxygen and/or reactive oxygen species and different absorption spectra of these two derivatives were observed.     

Electrochemical Monitoring of Singlet Oxygen Production

The exploitation of singlet oxygen generating compounds as a means of targeted therapies drives the need to develop methods for assessing the efficacy of such compounds and their capacity for generating the reactive oxygen species. Degradation of diphenylisobenzofuran by singlet oxygen is widely used as a spectroscopic probe but its application can be problematic. An alternative detection strategy exploiting the electrochemical monitoring of the quencher concentration, by square wave voltammetry, has been shown to provide a more sensitive and flexible option that could be used to address the increasing interest in photosensitizing materials.     

Comparative studies of photophysical and photochemical properties of solketal substituted platinum(II) and zinc(II) phthalocyanine sets

A complete set of platinum(II) solketal substituted phthalocyanines has been synthesized and characterized. To evaluate their potential as Type II photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy, comparative studies of their photophysical and photochemical properties with analogous zinc(II) series have been achieved: electronic absorption, fluorescence quantum yields, lifetimes, and fluorescence quenching by benzoquinone, as well as singlet oxygen generation and photodegradation. It appears that platinum(II) phthalocyanines are worth being used as Type II photosensitizers, as they exhibit good singlet oxygen generation and appropriate photodegradation.     

Studies on curcumin and curcuminoids. XXXIV. Photophysical properties of a symmetrical, non-substituted curcumin analogue

Curcumin is the main constituent of curry. In its ground state it shows chemo-preventive, chemo-therapeutic, anti-inflammatory and immune stimulating effects, and it is considered as a drug or drug model in the treatment of AIDS and cystic fibrosis. Further biological activity is induced in curcumin by light exposure: cytotoxicity is enhanced and photosensitized antibacterial effects are achieved. For the curcumin cis enol conformer, the fastest deactivation mechanism of the first excited singlet state is an excited-state intra-molecular proton transfer, which brings curcumin back to the ground state. This mechanism, as well as reketonization, interaction with the solvent and photodegradation, compete with the phototherapeutic action. The native compound curcumin carries phenolic hydroxyl and methoxy groups that influence the molecular charge distribution and hence the excited-state intra-molecular proton transfer rate in an unpredictable way. In this work we study static and time-resolved spectroscopic properties of a non-substituted curcuminoid that lacks both the phenolic hydroxyl and the phenolic methoxy groups. The photophysical properties of this compound are compared to those of native curcumin, in order to provide a rationale to the design of curcuminoids with molecular structures optimized for a photosensitizer.     

Antibacterial photoactivity and photosensitized oxidation of phenols with meso-tetra-(4-benzoate, 9-phenanthryl)-porphyrin and its metal complexes (Zn and Cu)

We performed the synthesis and characterization of meso-tetra-(4-benzoate-9-phenanthryl)-porphyrin and its Zn and Cu complexes. Synthesis of meso-tetra-(4-benzoate-9-phenanthryl)-porphyrin was carried out by dry gaseous HCl, meso-tetra-(4-carboxyphenyl)-porphyrin, and 9-phenantrol in tetrahydrofuran. The preparation of metal complexes was carried out using the method of the acetates. All porphyrins were characterized by FT-IR, NMR (¹H and ¹³C), MS, UV–visible, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Their photophysical properties: photostability, fluorescence quantum yields, energy transfer, and generation of singlet oxygen were determined and compared with the meso-tetraphenylporphyrin. Photochemical studies on their effectiveness as photosensitizers were performed through photo-oxidation of alcohols, phenol, and 2-naphthol. Higher efficiency of degradation was obtained with photostable TB9FPCu. The antibacterial photoactivity assay was tested against Escherichia coli and its viability was measured by chemiluminescence. The highest inactivation levels were obtained by ester TB9FP and Zn complex. The properties of the photosensitizer and its efficiency vary as a result of modifying its structure. The results obtained show that the efficiency of a photosensitizer depends on multiple factors. Thus, we can say that the copper complex is efficient in degradation of alcohol, while the metal-free porphyrin is better for antibacterial applications.