Roles of hydrophilicities and hydrophobicities of dye and sacrificial electron donor on the photochemical pathway

Concanavalin A-Rose Bengal bioconjugate for targeted Gram-negative antimicrobial photodynamic therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is considered a very promising therapeutic modality for antimicrobial therapy. Although several studies have demonstrated that Gram-positive bacteria are very sensitive to PDT, Gram-negative bacteria are more resistant to photodynamic action. This difference is due to a different cell wall structure. Gram-negative bacteria have an outer cell membrane containing lipopolysaccharides (LPS) that hinder the binding of photosensitizer molecules, protecting the bacterial cells from chemical attacks. Combination of the lipopolysaccharides-binding activity of Concanavalin A (ConA) with the photodynamic properties of Rose Bengal (RB) holds the potential of an innovative protein platform for targeted photodynamic therapy against Gram-negative bacteria. A ConA-RB bioconjugate was synthesized and characterized. Approximately 2.4 RB molecules were conjugated per ConA monomer. The conjugation of RB to ConA determines a decrease of the singlet oxygen generation and an increase of superoxide and peroxide production. The photokilling efficacy of the ConA-RB bioconjugate was demonstrated in a planktonic culture of E. coli. Irradiation with white light from a LED lamp produced a dose-dependent photokilling of bacteria. ConA-RB conjugates exhibited a consistent improvement over RB (up to 117-fold). The improved uptake of the photosensitizer explains the enhanced PDT effect accompanying increased membrane damages induced by the ConA-RB conjugate. The approach can be readily generalized (i) using different photo/sonosensitizers, (ii) to target other pathogens characterized by cell membranes containing lipopolysaccharides (LPS).

Potentiation of photoinactivation of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria mediated by six phenothiazinium dyes by addition of azide ion

Antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation (APDI) using phenothiazinium dyes is mediated by reactive oxygen species consisting of a combination of singlet oxygen (quenched by azide), hydroxyl radicals and other reactive oxygen species. We recently showed that addition of sodium azide paradoxically potentiated APDI of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria using methylene blue as the photosensitizer, and this was due to electron transfer to the dye triplet state from azide anion, producing azidyl radical. Here we compare this effect using six different homologous phenothiazinium dyes: methylene blue, toluidine blue O, new methylene blue, dimethylmethylene blue, azure A, and azure B. We found both significant potentiation (up to 2 logs) and also significant inhibition (>3 logs) of killing by adding 10 mM azide depending on Gram classification, washing the dye from the cells, and dye structure. Killing of E. coli was potentiated with all 6 dyes after a wash, while S. aureus killing was only potentiated by MB and TBO with a wash and DMMB with no wash. More lipophilic dyes (higher log P value, such as DMMB) were more likely to show potentiation. We conclude that the Type I photochemical mechanism (potentiation with azide) likely depends on the microenvironment, i.e. higher binding of dye to bacteria. Bacterial dye-binding is thought to be higher with Gram-negative compared to Gram-positive bacteria, when unbound dye has been washed away, and with more lipophilic dyes.