Targeted cancer phototherapy using phthalocyanine-anticancer drug conjugates

Phototherapy, the use of light to selectively ablate cancerous tissue, is a compelling prospect. Phototherapy is divided into two major domains: photodynamic and photothermal, whereby photosensitizer irradiation generates reactive oxygen species or heat, respectively, to disrupt the cancer microenvironment. Phthalocyanines (Pcs) are prominent phototherapeutics due to their desirable optical properties and structural versatility. Targeting of Pc photosensitizers historically relied on the enhanced permeation and retention effect, but the weak specificity engendered by this approach has hindered bench-to-clinic translation. To improve specificity, antibody and peptide active-targeting groups have been employed to some effect. An alternative targeting method exploits the binding of anticancer drugs to direct the photosensitizer close to essential cellular components, allowing for precise, synergistic phototherapy. This Perspective explores the use of Pc-drug conjugates as targeted anticancer phototherapeutic systems with examples of Pc-platin, Pc-kinase, and Pc-anthracycline conjugates discussed in detail.

Low-Dose Near-Infrared Light-Activated Mitochondria-Targeting Photosensitizers for PDT Cancer Therapy

Phthalocyanines (Pcs) are promising candidates for photodynamic therapy (PDT) due to their absorption in the phototherapeutic window. However, the highly aromatic Pc core leads to undesired aggregation and decreased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Therefore, short PEG chain functionalized A₃B type asymmetric Pc photosensitizers (PSs) were designed in order to decrease aggregation and increase the aqueous solubility. Here we report the synthesis, characterization, optical properties, cellular localization, and cytotoxicity of three novel Pc-based agents (LC31, MLC31, and DMLC31Pt). The stepwise functionalization of the peripheral moieties has a strong effect on the distribution coefficient (logP), cellular uptake, and localization, as well as photocytotoxicity. Additional experiments have revealed that the presence of the malonic ester moiety in the reported agent series is indispensable in order to induce photocytotoxicity. The best-performing agent, MLC31, showed mitochondrial targeting and an impressive phototoxic index (p.i.) of 748 in the cisplatin-resistant A2780/CP70 cell line, after a low-dose irradiation of 6.95 J/cm². This is the result of a high photocytotoxicity (IC₅₀ = 157 nM) upon irradiation with near-infrared (NIR) light, and virtually no toxicity in the dark (IC₅₀ = 117 μM). Photocytotoxicity was subsequently determined under hypoxic conditions. Additionally, a preliminarily pathway investigation of the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) disruption and induction of apoptosis by MLC31 was carried out. Our results underline how agent design involving both hydrophilic and lipophilic peripheral groups may serve as an effective way to improve the PDT efficiency of highly aromatic PSs for NIR light-mediated cancer therapy.

Anticancer Active Heterocyclic Chalcones: Recent Developments

BACKGROUND

Chalcones are structurally simple compounds that are easily accessible by synthetic methods. Heterocyclic chalcones have gained the interest of scientists due to their diverse biological activities. The anti-tumor activities of heterocyclic chalcones are especially remarkable and the growing number of publications dealing with this topic warrants an up-to-date compilation.

METHODS

Search for antitumor active heterocyclic chalcones was carried out using Pubmed and Scifinder as common web-based literature searching tools. Pertinent and current literature was covered from 2015/2016 to 2019. Chemical structures, biological activities and modes of action of anti-tumor active heterocyclic chalcones are summarized.

RESULTS

Simply prepared chalcones have emerged over the last years with promising antitumor activities. Among them, there are a considerable number of tubulin polymerization inhibitors. But there are also new chalcones targeting special enzymes such as histone deacetylases or with DNA-binding properties.

CONCLUSION

This review provides a summary of recent heterocyclic chalcone derivatives with distinct antitumor activities.

Synthesis, characterization, photophysicochemical properties and theoretical study of novel zinc phthalocyanine containing four tetrathia macrocycles

In this work, Zn(II) phthalocyanine derivative (TTU-Pc) bearing 13-membered tetrathia macrocycles was synthesized, and the novel Zn(II) phthalocyanine derivative was fully characterized by elemental analysis and general spectroscopic methods such as MALDI-TOF mass, FT-IR, UV-vis and [Formula: see text]H-NMR. The synthesized phthalocyanine derivative has quite limited solubility in most of the common organic solvents. Fluorescence measurement was conducted for this Zn(II)phthalocyanine to estimate its fluorescence quantum yields. The singlet oxygen generation ability was also examined to investigate its photosensitizer properties. General trends were described for quantum yields of fluorescence, photodegradation and singlet oxygen quantum yields of this compound. The electrochemical properties of the molecule were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV). In addition, the lowest energy structure, the electronic structure and frontier molecular orbitals were calculated in DFT and the excitation spectrum was obtained by TDDFT calculations. We found that our computational and experimental results were in agreement.

Photophysical and photochemical properties of fluoroether-substituted zinc(II) and titanium(IV) phthalocyanines

The synthesis and characterization of novel zinc(II) (1a–4a) and oxo-titanium(IV) (1b–4b) phthalocyanine derivatives bearing 1H,1H-nona?uoro-3,6-dioxaheptan-1-ol groups are described for the first time. These phthalocyanines (1a–4a and 1b–4b) were characterized by elemental analysis and different spectroscopic techniques such as UV-vis, [Formula: see text]H NMR, FTIR and mass. Furthermore, the photophysical (fluorescence quantum yields and lifetimes) and photochemical (singlet oxygen generation and photodegradation) properties of these phthalocyanines were investigated in tetrahydrofuran (THF) solution. The influence of the number of the substituted groups (tetra or octa), position of the substituents (peripheral or non-peripheral) and central metal atom (zinc or titanium) on the photophysical and photochemical properties of these phthalocyanines were evaluated.