Biological activities of phthalocyanines--III. Photoinactivation of V-79 Chinese hamster cells by tetrasulfophthalocyanines

Mechanism of uptake of sulfonated metallophthalocyanines by cultured mammalian cells

The uptake of several metallophthalocyanine tetrasulfonates by cultured Chinese hamster cells was studied. Uranyl- and chloraluminium were taken up at the highest rate followed by Ni-, Zn-, Cu-, Co- and dichlorosilicon-phthalocyanine tetrasulfonate. The uptake from the growth medium containing 10% serum in which only 15% of the dye is not bound to serum proteins was 5--18-fold slower than in the absence of serum, suggesting that most of the uptake is of free dye. Using gel filtration to separate tightly protein-bound dye from the free dye, binding curves were constructed that varied in slope and saturation values for the different compounds. At saturation, the number of dye molecules bound per serum albumin molecule varied from 1 for vanadyl- and cobalt-, to 4 for uranyl-phthalocyanine tetrsulfonate. Absorption spectra of the various phthalocyanines indicated that under physiological conditions, all dyes, with the exception of chloroaluminum- and dichlorosilicon-phthalocyanine tetrasulfonate, were aggregated. The rate of uptake was unrelated to the state of aggregation. The rate of uptake was temperature dependent at intervals longer than 1 h. At shorter times, very little temperature dependence was observed. These results suggest that the uptake process takes place in two steps. The first step is passive, involving binding of metallophthalocyanine tetrasulfonate to a receptor on the cell membrane, while the second one is active and involves internalization of the bound dye.

Effect of light fluence rate on mammalian cells photosensitization by chloroaluminium phthalocyanine tetrasulphonate

Phthalocyanines are photosensitizers evaluated for use in photodynamic therapy of cancer. As such, the dependence of the bioresponse on the light fluence rate may be of clinical importance. The effect of the fluence rate of white light from 0.165 to 3.3 kJ m-2 min-1 was studied in Chinese hamster cells and human lymphocytes, using as endpoints colony-forming ability and inhibition of [3H]thymidine incorporation following mitogenic stimulation and dye-photoactivation, respectively. Using Chinese hamster cells exposed to photoexcited chloroaluminium phthalocyanine tetrasulphonate in PBS solution, cytotoxicity was diminished as the fluence rate was reduced. In human lymphocytes changing the fluence rate between 0.33 and 3.3 kJ m-2 min-1 affected the response in a way similar to that of Chinese hamster cells. Human lymphocytes, when exposed to incremental increasing light fluences, 4 h after a conditioning dose, were able to recover from phthalocyanine-induced photodamage, as evidenced by the reappearance of a shoulder on the dose-effect curve. This recovery process during a protracted light exposure, could explain the reduced sensitivity to phthalocyanine photosensitization, compared to exposure at high fluence rates.

Spectroscopic studies on Zn(II)-phthalocyanine in homogeneous and microheterogeneous systems

The absorption and fluorescence properties of Zn2+-phthalocyanine (Zn-Pc) have been characterized in homogeneous and microheterogeneous media. By our preparation procedure, the phthalocyanine can be associated in a monomeric state with cationic micelles, unilamellar liposomes, and low-density lipoproteins; the distribution of Zn-Pc in the hydrophobic phases appears to be controlled by the nature of the lipid environment. The potential use of liposome-bound Zn-Pc for photosensitization studies in aqueous media and for phototherapeutic applications in vivo is briefly discussed.

Zinc tetrasulphophthalocyanine as a photodynamic sensitizer for biomolecules

Monomeric zinc tetrasulphophthalocyanine in aqueous buffer is an effective sensitizer for the photo-oxidation of amino acids and nucleic acid bases and for the photodynamic inactivation of the enzyme, lysozyme; these reactions appear to be mediated by singlet oxygen.

Fundamental aspects in tumor photochemotherapy: interactions of porphyrins with membrane model systems and cells

Some molecular aspects underlying photochemotherapy and photodiagnosis of tumors with porphyrins are reviewed. The nature of the clinically used photosensitizer HpD is first presented along with structures of molecules found to be efficient in vitro. The possible role of pH in the preferential retention of dicarboxylic porphyrins by tumors is discussed in light of results obtained with membrane models. The uptake of dicarboxylic porphyrins by cells most likely involves passive mechanisms. Cell photoinactivation using a purified porphyrin does not depend upon the incubation time but only on the intracellular concentration of the dye. This likely reflects a poor specificity of the photoinactivation processes with regard to the cellular localization of the dye. The properties which should be presented by more efficient photosensitizers are discussed.