The efficiency of [2,9,17,23-tetrakis-(1,6-hexanedithiol)phthalocyaninato]zinc(II) as a photodynamic therapy (PDT) agent was investigated. This compound belongs to the second generation of photosensitizers currently tested for the cellular photo-damage of cancer cells. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and phototoxicity of the photosensitizer were assessed. Healthy fibroblast cells and breast cancer (MCF-7) cells were treated with either free phthalocyanine or phthalocyanine bound to either gold nanoparticles or encapsulated in liposomes. Cell viability studies showed the optimum phototoxic effect on non-malignant cells to be 4.5 J cm-2. The PDT effect of the liposome bound phthalocyanine showed extensive damage of the breast cancer cells. Gold nanoparticles only showed a modest improvement in PDT activity.
Reference:
Nombona, N, Maduray, K, Antunes, E, Karsten, A and Nyokong, T. 2012. Synthesis of phthalocyanine conjugates with gold nanoparticles and liposomes for photodynamic therapy. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology, vol. 107, pp 35-44
Nombona, N., Maduray, K., Antunes, E., Karsten, A., & Nyokong, T. (2012). Synthesis of phthalocyanine conjugates with gold nanoparticles and liposomes for photodynamic therapy. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/5632
Nombona, N, K Maduray, E Antunes, A Karsten, and T Nyokong "Synthesis of phthalocyanine conjugates with gold nanoparticles and liposomes for photodynamic therapy." (2012) http://hdl.handle.net/10204/5632
Nombona N, Maduray K, Antunes E, Karsten A, Nyokong T. Synthesis of phthalocyanine conjugates with gold nanoparticles and liposomes for photodynamic therapy. 2012; http://hdl.handle.net/10204/5632.