Browsing by Subject "Photosensitizing Agents"
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Item Open Access Cationic amphiphilic Zn-porphyrin with high antifungal photodynamic potency.(Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology, 2017-11) Moghnie, Sara; Tovmasyan, Artak; Craik, James; Batinic-Haberle, Ines; Benov, LudmilPhotodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising alternative approach particularly attractive for treatment of localized fungal infections. It is based on compounds, photosensitizers (PSs), which when excited with visible light, generate reactive species that ultimately cause cell death. Such species have short lifespans; as a consequence, efficiency and selectivity of the PDT treatment depend mainly on the properties of the PSs. This study is the first to explore the effect of cationic porphyrin-based photosensitizers on Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a member of the fungus kingdom. The study investigates which properties of the PS are essential for efficient antifungal PDT. Cationic Zn(ii) meso-tetrakis(N-alkylpyridinium-2-yl)porphyrins (ZnP) with identical tetrapyrrole core and photo-physical properties, but with different substituents at the meso positions of the porphyrin ring were studied. Attaching six-carbon aliphatic chains to the four pyridyl nitrogens at all meso positions to the porphyrin ring produced a highly photo-efficient amphiphilic, water soluble PS, with minimal dark toxicity. It was taken up by the yeast cells and upon illumination suppressed metabolism by inactivating cytoplasmic and mitochondrial enzymes, and compromising plasma membrane barrier function. At low concentrations (up to 5 μM) the tetrahexyl derivative was a much more powerful antifungal agent than the commercially available chlorin e6. The more lipophilic tetraoctyl analog was also highly photo-efficient but displayed strong dark toxicity, presumably due to higher lipophilicity which might affect the lipid bilayer of membranes. Results presented here can assist the design of antifungal agents whose biological action depends on efficient and rapid uptake by the cells.Item Open Access Modular nanotransporters: a multipurpose in vivo working platform for targeted drug delivery.(Int J Nanomedicine, 2012) Slastnikova, Tatiana A; Rosenkranz, Andrey A; Gulak, Pavel V; Schiffelers, Raymond M; Lupanova, Tatiana N; Khramtsov, Yuri V; Zalutsky, Michael R; Sobolev, Alexander SBACKGROUND: Modular nanotransporters (MNT) are recombinant multifunctional polypeptides created to exploit a cascade of cellular processes, initiated with membrane receptor recognition to deliver selective short-range and highly cytotoxic therapeutics to the cell nucleus. This research was designed for in vivo concept testing for this drug delivery platform using two modular nanotransporters, one targeted to the α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (αMSH) receptor overexpressed on melanoma cells and the other to the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor overexpressed on several cancers, including glioblastoma, and head-and-neck and breast carcinoma cells. METHODS: In vivo targeting of the modular nanotransporter was determined by immuno-fluorescence confocal laser scanning microscopy and by accumulation of (125)I-labeled modular nanotransporters. The in vivo therapeutic effects of the modular nanotransporters were assessed by photodynamic therapy studies, given that the cytotoxicity of photosensitizers is critically dependent on their delivery to the cell nucleus. RESULTS: Immunohistochemical analyses of tumor and neighboring normal tissues of mice injected with multifunctional nanotransporters demonstrated preferential uptake in tumor tissue, particularly in cell nuclei. With (125)I-labeled MNT{αMSH}, optimal tumor:muscle and tumor:skin ratios of 8:1 and 9.8:1, respectively, were observed 3 hours after injection in B16-F1 melanoma-bearing mice. Treatment with bacteriochlorin p-MNT{αMSH} yielded 89%-98% tumor growth inhibition and a two-fold increase in survival for mice with B16-F1 and Cloudman S91 melanomas. Likewise, treatment of A431 human epidermoid carcinoma-bearing mice with chlorin e(6)- MNT{EGF} resulted in 94% tumor growth inhibition compared with free chlorin e(6), with 75% of animals surviving at 3 months compared with 0% and 20% for untreated and free chlorin e(6)-treated groups, respectively. CONCLUSION: The multifunctional nanotransporter approach provides a new in vivo functional platform for drug development that could, in principle, be applicable to any combination of cell surface receptor and agent (photosensitizers, oligonucleotides, radionuclides) requiring nuclear delivery to achieve maximum effectiveness.