Photophysical properties and photodynamic activity of octacationic oxotitanium(IV) phthalocyanines

Photodynamic therapy induces an immune response against a bacterial pathogen

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) employs the triple combination of photosensitizers, visible light and ambient oxygen. When PDT is used for cancer, it has been observed that both arms of the host immune system (innate and adaptive) are activated. When PDT is used for infectious disease, however, it has been assumed that the direct antimicrobial PDT effect dominates. Murine arthritis caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the knee failed to respond to PDT with intravenously injected Photofrin(®). PDT with intra-articular Photofrin produced a biphasic dose response that killed bacteria without destroying host neutrophils. Methylene blue was the optimum photosensitizer to kill bacteria while preserving neutrophils. We used bioluminescence imaging to noninvasively monitor murine bacterial arthritis and found that PDT with intra-articular methylene blue was not only effective, but when used before infection, could protect the mice against a subsequent bacterial challenge. The data emphasize the importance of considering the host immune response in PDT for infectious disease.

Photodynamic therapy for infections: clinical applications

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) was discovered over 100 years ago by its ability to kill various microorganisms when the appropriate dye and light were combined in the presence of oxygen. However it is only in relatively recent times that PDT has been studied as a treatment for various types of localized infections. This resurgence of interest has been partly motivated by the alarming increase in drug resistance amongst bacteria and other pathogens. This review will focus on the clinical applications of antimicrobial PDT.

STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS

The published peer-reviewed literature was reviewed between 1960 and 2011.

RESULTS

The basics of antimicrobial PDT are discussed. Clinical applications of antimicrobial PDT to localized viral infections caused by herpes and papilloma viruses, and nonviral dermatological infections such as acne and other yeast, fungal and bacterial skin infections are covered. PDT has been used to treat bacterial infections in brain abscesses and non-healing ulcers. PDT for dental infections including periodontitis and endodontics has been well studied. PDT has also been used for cutaneous Leishmaniasis. Clinical trials of PDT and blue light alone therapy for gastric Helicobacter pylori infection are also covered.

CONCLUSION

As yet clinical PDT for infections has been mainly in the field of dermatology using 5-aminolevulanic acid and in dentistry using phenothiazinium dyes. We expect more to see applications of PDT to more challenging infections using advanced antimicrobial photosensitizers targeted to microbial cells in the years to come.

Oxidative photobleaching of phthalocyanines in solution

Metallophthalocyanines form a very important class of commercial dyes and have achieved significant success in a variety of applications, in which their photostability is of fundamental importance. On this ground, considerable data on phthalocyanine photobleaching were published over recent years. We do not intend to give exhaustive compilation of the photobleaching quantum yields, which are known for wide circle of phthalocyanines in different solvents. This review begins by discussing pertinent background information about processes following phthalocyanine excitation. Then using selected examples of the recent literature, including authors' works, we survey a variety of photobleaching effects from the fundamental origins to specific for phthalocyanine chromophore. Finally, the mechanisms of phthalocyanine oxidative photobleaching are discussed.

Kaliya O. Study on the photostability of water-soluble Zn(II) and Al(III) phthalocyanines in aqueous solution

The photodegradation of a series of water-soluble Zn(II) and Al(III) phthalocyanines has been studied in aerobic aqueous solutions. The photobleaching quantum yields of zinc phthalocyanine derivatives range from 2.2 × 10-4 for octacarboxy- to 1.5 × 10-5 for ZnPc , bearing 16 positively charged groups on periphery. Their aluminum counterparts are more photostable and photobleach with quantum yields in the narrow range (0.75 ÷ 2 × 10-6). The pH dependences of the photobleaching quantum yields for aluminum phthalocyanines show enhanced photodegradation for molecules with deprotonated axial H2O ligand. Some aspects of the mechanism of dyes photodegradation were studied and discussed. It was found that contribution to photooxidation of type II pathways depends upon a particular dye structure. Thus, no contribution of singlet oxygen to the photooxidation of cationic phthalocyanines has been found, even though singlet oxygen is involved in the photodegradation of negatively charged phthalocyanines.