Axially substituted silicon(IV) phthalocyanine and its quaternized derivative as photosensitizers towards tumor cells and bacterial pathogens

Single-laser excitation synergistic photo- and chemodynamic therapy system based on persistent luminescence nanoparticles

Photodynamic and photothermal therapy (PDT and PTT) have been widely used in tumor treatment researches owe to its advantages of spatiotemporal controlliability and non-invasiveness. Combining two phototherapy strategies together and/or with chemodynamic therapy (CDT) could achieve better therapeutic efficiency, but the resulting inconvenient dual-laser irradiation and the potential skin toxicity limit its development. Moreover, the lack of tumor-specificity causes side-effects to normal tissues. Therefore, shortening the irradiation time, or integrating two lasers, and increasing tumor specificity are necessary to reduce side effects. Herein, we developed a tumor microenvironment responsive one-laser-excited PDT/PTT/CDT synergistic therapeutic nanosystem ZPPSC (refers to ZGGC-PDA-PEI-Si-Pc-Cu) for precise tumor phototherapy. In this nanosystem, the simultaneous PTT and PDT activation using a single laser, enhancing phototherapy efficiency while reducing phototoxicity were achieved. Specifically, persistent luminescence nanoparticle ZnGa1.6Ge0.2O4:Cr (ZGGC) is coated with polydopamine (PDA) through self-polymerization of dopamine, modified with polyethyleneimine (PEI), Si-Pc, and adsorbed with Cu2+. Cu2+ quenches the persistent luminescence (PersL) in physiological environment, and could be reduced to Cu+ under the excess GSH in tumor cells, resulting in removing from nanosystem. Whereafter, PersL is restored, and Fenton-like reaction between Cu+ and overexpressed H2O2 is triggered to generate ·OH for CDT therapy. Under single 808-nm irradiation, PDA will be irradiated to perform PTT, and the opening persistent luminescence could irradiate photosensitizers for PDT and continues to stimulate them even after the laser stops, reducing external excitation time. The in vivo results shown that ZPPSC exhibit ideal PDT performance, and increased local temperature close to 60 °C. Most importantly, the tumor inhibition rate by combined PTT, PDT, CDT with 5-min 808-nm laser irradiation is 99%, and even one mouse was completely cured with the bearing tumor completely disappeared. By using this nanosystem, PDT and PTT were achieved by only on laser with relatively short irradiation time. Moreover, the weak tissue penetration of the 660-nm PS excitation source was also addressed. Our design achieves tumor-specific one-laser three-mode phototherapy with shortened irradiation time, enhancing therapy effectiveness while minimizing side effects. These results exhibit great therapeutic outcomes of ZPPSC for precious tumor phototherapy.

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa post photodynamic therapy with Curcumin in vitro

Alternative therapies against pathogens are under intense investigation because of their increasing resistance to antibiotics. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is one such alternative that has shown promising results. However, for the widespread use of PDT, it is essential to decipher underlying mechanisms, so as to improve PDT's therapeutic applications. Because of this, we have studied biochemical changes in pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a medically important bacteria that has developed antibiotic resistance, after PDT with curcumin photosensitizer. Results show a drastic decrease in α-helix protein and increased disordered and β-sheet secondary structure proteins in P. Aeruginosa post-PDT compared to control. Interestingly, these biochemical changes differ from PDT of pathogens Leishmania braziliensis and Leishmania major with photosensitizer methylene blue. This observation underlines the need for extensive studies on PDT of different pathogens to understand mechanisms of action and develop better PDT strategies.

Photodynamic inactivation of pathogenic Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria mediated by Si(IV) phthalocyanines bearing axial ammonium units

The photodynamic inactivation (PDI) of microorganisms has gained interest as an efficient option for conventional antibiotic treatments. Recently, Si(IV) phthalocyanines (SiPcs) have been highlighted as promising photosensitizers (PSs) to the PDI of microorganisms due to their remarkable absorption and emission features. To increase the potential of cationic SiPcs as PS drugs, one novel (1a) and two previously described (2a and 3a) axially substituted PSs with di-, tetra-, and hexa-ammonium units, respectively, were synthesized and characterized. Their PDI effect was evaluated for the first time against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, a Gram-negative and a Gram-positive bacterium, respectively. The photodynamic treatments were conducted with PS concentrations of 3.0 and 6.0 μM under 60 min of white light irradiation (150 mW.cm^-2). The biological results show high photodynamic efficiency for di- and tetra-cationic PSs 1a and 2a (6.0 μM), reducing the E. coli viability in 5.2 and 3.9 log, respectively (after 15 min of dark incubation before irradiation). For PS 3a, a similar bacterial reduction (3.6 log) was achieved but only with an extended dark incubation period (30 min). Under the same experimental conditions, the photodynamic effect of cationic PSs 1a-3a on S. aureus was even more promising, with abundance reductions of ca. 8.0 log after 45-60 min of PDI treatment. These results reveal the high PDI efficiency of PSs bearing ammonium groups and suggest their promising application as a broad-spectrum antimicrobial to control infections caused by Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.

Persistent Luminescence-Based Theranostics for Real-Time Monitoring and Simultaneously Launching Photodynamic Therapy of Bacterial Infections

External light irradiation is usually required in bacterial infection theranostics; however, it is always accompanied by limited light penetration, imaging interference, and incomplete bacterial destruction. Herein, a feasible "image-launching therapy" strategy is developed to integrate real-time optical imaging and simultaneous photodynamic therapy (PDT) of bacterial infections into persistent luminescence (PL) nanoparticles (NPs). Mesoporous silica NPs are used as a substrate for in situ deposition of PL nanodots of ZnGa₂ O₄ :Cr³⁺ to obtain mPL NPs, followed by surface grafting with silicon phthalocyanine (Si-Pc) and electrostatic assembly of cyanine 7 (Cy7) to fabricate mPL@Pc-Cy NPs. The PL emission of light-activated mPL@Pc-Cy NPs is quenched by Cy7 assembly at physiological conditions through the fluorescence resonance energy transfer effect, but is rapidly restored after disassembly of Cy7 in response to bacterial infections. The self-illuminating capabilities of NPs avoid tissue autofluorescence under external light irradiation and achieve real-time colorimetric imaging of bacterial infections. In addition, the afterglow of mPL NPs can persistently excite Si-Pc photosensitizers to promote PDT efficacy for bacterial elimination and accelerate wound full recovery with normal histologic features. Thus, this study expands the theranostic strategy for precise imaging and simultaneous non-antibiotic treatment of bacterial infections without causing side effects to normal tissues.

Promising Photocytotoxicity of Water-Soluble Phtalocyanine against Planktonic and Biofilm Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolates from Lower Respiratory Tract and Chronic Wounds

Alternative methods of killing microbes have been extensively researched in connection with the widespread appearance of antibiotic resistance among pathogenic bacteria. In this study, we report on in vitro antimicrobial phototoxicity research of cationic phthalocyanine with 2-(4-N-methylmorpholin-4-ium-4-yl)ethoxy substituents against selected clinical strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from the lower respiratory tract and chronic wounds. The microorganisms tested in the research were analyzed in terms of drug resistance and biofilm formation. The photocytotoxic effect of phthalocyanine was determined by the reduction factor of bacteria. The studied cationic phthalocyanine at a concentration of 1.0 × 10−4 M, when activated by light, revealed a significant reduction factor, ranging from nearly 4 to 6 log, of P. aeruginosa cells when compared to the untreated control group. After single irradiation, a decrease in the number of bacteria in biofilm ranging from 1.3 to 4.2 log was observed, whereas the second treatment significantly improved the bacterial reduction factor from 3.4 to 5.5 log. It is worth mentioning that a boosted cell-death response was observed after the third irradiation, with a bacterial reduction factor ranging from 4.6 to 6.4 log. According to the obtained results, the tested photosensitizer can be considered as a potential antimicrobial photodynamic therapy against multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa.

Remodeling Tumor-Associated Neutrophils to Enhance Dendritic Cell-Based HCC Neoantigen Nano-Vaccine Efficiency

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) commonly emerges in an immunologically "cold" state, thereafter protects it away from cytolytic attack by tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, resulting in poor response to immunotherapy. Herein, an acidic/photo-sensitive dendritic cell (DCs)-based neoantigen nano-vaccine has been explored to convert tumor immune "cold" state into "hot", and remodel tumor-associated neutrophils to potentiate anticancer immune response for enhancing immunotherapy efficiency. The nano-vaccine is constructed by SiPCCl2 -hybridized mesoporous silica with coordination of Fe(III)-captopril, and coating with exfoliated membrane of matured DCs by H22-specific neoantigen stimulation. The nano-vaccines actively target H22 tumors and induce immunological cell death to boost tumor-associated antigen release by the generation of excess 1 O2 through photodynamic therapy, which act as in situ tumor vaccination to strengthen antitumor T-cell response against primary H22 tumor growth. Interestingly, the nano-vaccines are also home to lymph nodes to directly induce the activation and proliferation of neoantigen-specific T cells to suppress the primary/distal tumor growth. Moreover, the acidic-triggered captopril release in tumor microenvironment can polarize the protumoral N2 phenotype neutrophils to antitumor N1 phenotype for improving the immune effects to achieve complete tumor regression (83%) in H22-bearing mice and prolong the survival time. This work provides an alternative approach for developing novel HCC immunotherapy strategies.

Experimental and theoretical investigation of water-soluble silicon(IV) phthalocyanine and its interaction with bovine serum albumin

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has drawn a great scientific attention to cancer treatment over the last decades. However, the bottleneck for the PDT is to find good photosensitizers (PSs) with greater water solubility, no aggregation, and fast discharge from the body. Therefore, there are still a big scientific desire for the synthesizing new rational PSs for treatment of cancer by PDT technique. In favor of improving the competence of PDT, an axially bis[4-(diphenylamino-1,1'-biphenyl-4-ol)] substituted silicon(IV) phthalocyanine (3) was converted to its water-soluble quaternized derivative (3Q). Their structures were fully characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, and different spectroscopic methods such as FT-IR, UV-Vis, MALDI-TOF, and 1H-NMR. The photophysical properties such as fluorescence quantum yields and lifetimes, and the photochemical properties such as singlet oxygen generation of both phthalocyanines were investigated. Ground and excited-state calculations were performed to explain the observed electronic absorption spectra. The addition of the 4-diphenylamino-1,1'-biphenyl-4-ol groups on the axially positions of the silicon(IV) phthalocyanine increased the singlet oxygen quantum yield from 0.15 to around 0.20. Especially quaternized compound 3Q showed high singlet oxygen quantum yield of 0.26 in water solution. In addition, a spectroscopic investigation of the binding behavior of the quaternized silicon (IV) phthalocyanine complex to bovine serum albumin (BSA) is also studied in this work, confirming the possible interaction. Further theoretical calculations were carried out to find out the plausible-binding regions of the BSA protein. Axially bis[4-(diphenylamino-1,1'-biphenyl-4-ol)] substituted silicon(IV) phthalocyanine (3) was converted to its quaternized water soluble derivative (3Q). The photophysical properties such as fluorescence quantum yields and lifetimes, and the photochemical properties such as singlet oxygen generation of both phthalocyanines were investigated. In addition, a spectroscopic investigation of the binding behavior of the quaternized silicon (IV) phthalocyanine complex to bovine serum albumin (BSA) is also studied in this work, confirming the possible interaction. Further theoretical calculations were carried out to find out the plausible binding regions of the BSA protein.

Synthesis and photodynamic activities of novel silicon(iv) phthalocyanines axially substituted with water soluble groups against HeLa cancer cell line

In this study, compounds 1 and 2, and their silicon(iv) phthalocyanine (SiPc) derivatives 3 and 4, which bear these ligands as substituents on the axial positions were synthesized. These SiPcs (3 and 4) were also converted to their water soluble derivatives (3a and 4a). All these novel compounds were fully characterized by a combination of spectroscopic data such as FT-IR, ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR and UV-vis as well as mass spectroscopy. The photophysicochemical properties (fluorescence quantum yields and lifetimes, singlet oxygen, and photodegradation quantum yields) were investigated in DMSO for all the studied SiPcs (3 and 4) and in both DMSO and aqueous solutions for the water soluble SiPcs (3a and 4a). Effects of quaternization of these phthalocyanines on photophysicochemical properties were also determined. The photodynamic therapy activities of the water soluble SiPcs (3a and 4a) were tested against to the HeLa cancer cell lines and these phthalocyanines exhibited cytotoxicity against these cell lines.

Turning Photons into Drugs: Phthalocyanine-Based Photosensitizers as Efficient Photoantimicrobials

One of the most promising alternatives for treating bacterial infections is antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT), making the synthesis and application of new photoactive compounds called photosensitizers (PS) a dynamic research field. In this regard, phthalocyanine (Pc) derivatives offer great opportunities due to their extraordinary light-harvesting and tunable electronic properties, structural versatility, and stability. This Review, rather than focusing on synthetic strategies, intends to overview current progress in the structural design strategies for Pcs that could achieve effective photoinactivation of microorganisms. In addition, the Review provides a concise look into the recent developments and applications of nanocarrier-based Pc delivery systems.

The improved antibacterial efficiency of a zinc phthalocyanine when embedded on silver nanoparticle modified silica nanofibers

This work reports on the fabrication and modification of electrospun polymer free silica nanofibers (SiO₂ NFs) with the aim of creating heterogeneous antibacterial catalysts. The optical and photophysical properties of the obtained NFs i.e. bare SiO₂, Ag-SiO₂, Pc-SiO₂ and Pc@Ag-SiO₂ NFs (Pc = phthalocyanine) were compared and reported. The singlet oxygen quantum yields of the Pc-SiO₂ and Pc@Ag-SiO₂ NFs were also quantified and found to be 0.08 and 0.12, respectively, in water. All the modified SiO₂ NFs were found to possess photoactivity against S. aureus with the most effective being the Pc@Ag-SiO₂ NFs due to the synergy between the Pc and Ag nanoparticles. The bare SiO₂ NFs do not exhibit any antibacterial activity while the Ag-SiO₂ and Pc@Ag-SiO₂ NFs were found to also exhibit dark toxicity. The generated photocatalysts are attractive because they are active against bacteria and they are easily retrievable post-application. The nanocatalysts reported herein are therefore feasible candidates for real-life antibacterial applications.

Fluorescence properties in different solvents and synthesis of axially substituted silicon phthalocyanine bearing bis-4-tritylphenoxy units

In this present study, a new axially bis-4-tritylphenoxy substituted silicon phthalocyanine compound was synthesized and characterized using infrared, mass, electronic absorption and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Fluorescence and absorption spectra studies of the disubstituted silicon phthalocyanine complex were conducted on the chloroform, dimethyl formamide, dimethyl sulfoxide and tetrahydrofuran solutions. The findings of the fluorescence studies demonstrated that the compound has fluorescence spectra in the different solvents. The effects of the substitution with axially bis-4-tritylphenoxy functionalized groups on these parameters were also compared with the previously synthesized axially disubstituted silicon phthalocyanines. These results proved that the compound has different fluorescence properties in the different solvents.

Cationic axial ligands on sulfur substituted silicon(iv) phthalocyanines: improved hydrophilicity and exceptionally red-shifted absorption into the NIR region

Herein, we report the exceptionally red-shifted absorption of sulfur-substituted silicon(iv) phthalocyanines upon introduction of cationic axial ligands.

The synthesis of axially disubstituted silicon phthalocyanines, their quaternized derivatives and first inhibitory effect on human cytosolic carbonic anhydrase isozymes hCA I and II

In this study a novel silicon(iv) phthalocyanine bearing [(2E)-3-[4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]-1-(4-phenoxy)prop-2-en-1-one] group and its quaternized derivative at their axial positions were synthesized for the first time. Axially disubstituted silicon(iv) phthalocyanines were also characterized by various spectroscopic techniques. The inhibition of two human cytosolic carbonic anhydrase (hCA, EC 4.2.1.1) isozymes I and II, with axially disubstituted silicon phthalocyanines and their quaternized derivatives were investigated by using the esterase assay, with 4-nitrophenyl acetate as substrate. Silicon phthalocyanines ZM-1-Si, ZM-5-Si, ZT-Si and their quaternized derivatives ZM-1-SiQ, ZM-5-SiQ, ZT-SiQ showed IC₅₀ values in the range of 0.0178–0.1653 μM for hCA I and of 0.0172–0.1212 μM against hCA II, respectively. This study is the first example of carbonic anhydrase enzyme inhibition of phthalocyanines.

In this study a novel silicon(iv) phthalocyanine bearing [(2E)-3-[4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]-1-(4-phenoxy)prop-2-en-1-one] group and its quaternized derivative at their axial positions were synthesized for the first time.