Development of bacteriochlorophyll a-based near-infrared photosensitizers conjugated to gold nanoparticles for photodynamic therapy of cancer.

We report the synthesis and characterization of a new sulfur-containing derivative of bacteriochlorophyll a. The latter was isolated from biomass of the nonsulfur purple bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus strain B10. The developed photosensitizer is N-aminobacteriopurpurinimide with an exocyclic amino group acylated with a lipoic acid moiety, which is a biogenic substance that acts as a cofactor of the pyruvate dehydrogenase and α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complexes in the body. The disulfide moiety of lipoic acid confers the compound aurophilicity, thus allowing its conjugation with gold nanoparticles (NP-Au) via S-Au bonds. The shape and the size of the resulting nanoconjugate with immobilized photosensitizer (PS-Au) were assessed by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy. The conjugated nanoparticles are spherical with hydrodynamic diameter of 100-110 nm. The PS-Au conjugate absorbs light at 824 nm and emits strong fluorescence at 830 nm, which allowed in vivo study of its dynamic biodistribution in rats bearing sarcoma M-1. Compared to the free photosensitizer, PS loaded on the gold nanoparticles (PS-Au) showed extended circulation time in the blood and enhanced tumor uptake due to nonspecific passive targeting when the drug accumulates in tumor sites through the leaky tumor neovasculature and does not return to the circulation.

Photobiological and ultrastructural studies of nanoparticles of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)-containing bacteriochlorophyll-a as a photosensitizer useful for PDT treatment.

The interaction of polymeric nanoparticles formulated from the biodegradable polymer poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) loaded with bacteriochlorophyll-a was studied in homogeneous solution and in vitro in the presence of a macrophage cell line (P388-D1-ATCC). Photodynamic therapy (PDT) activity after different laser doses also was investigated. Scanning electron microscopy analysis of cell phagocyte nanoparticles showed that after 30 min of incubation most of the nanoparticles are in a clear adhesion process to the cell surface. The majority of nanoparticles became phagocytic after 2 hr of incubation time. After laser irradiation of the dye-containing system a total photodamage by nanoparticle phagocyte cells was observed and the cell survival was quantified by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide test. Our results indicate that polymeric nanoparticles work as an efficient drug delivery system for PDT drugs. This approach can be widely used for many other hydrophobic photosensitizers with higher aggregation tendency in neoplastic cell treatment.

Skin Anti-Aging Activities of Bacteriochlorophyll a from Photosynthetic Bacteria, Rhodobacter sphaeroides.

In this work, the anti-aging skin effects of bacteriochlorophyll a isolated from Rhodobacter sphaeroides are first reported, with notably low cytotoxicity in the range of 1% to 14% in adding 0.00078 (% (w/w)) of the extracts, compared with the normal growth of both human dermal fibroblast and keratinocyte cells without any treatment as a control. The highest production of procollagen from human fibroblast cells (CCD-986sk) was observed as 221.7 ng/ml with 0.001 (% (w/w)) of bacteriochlorophyll a, whereas 150 and 200 ng/ml of procollagen production resulted from addition of 0.001 (% (w/w)) of the photosynthetic bacteria. The bacteriochlorophylla- induced TNF-α production increased to 63.8%, which was lower secretion from HaCaT cells than that from addition of 0.00005 (% (w/w)) of bacteriochlorophyll a. Additionally, bacteriochlorophyll a upregulated the expression of genes related to skin anti-aging (i.e., keratin 10, involucrin, transglutaminase-1, and MMPs), by up to 4-15 times those of the control. However, crude extracts from R. sphaeroides did not enhance the expression level of these genes. Bacteriochlorophyll a showed higher antioxidant activity of 63.8% in DPPH free radical scavenging than those of water, ethanol, and 70% ethanol extracts (14.0%, 57.2%, and 12.6%, respectively). It was also shown that the high antioxidant activity could be attributed to the skin anti-aging effect of bacteriochlorophyll a, although R. sphaeroides itself would not exhibit significant anti-aging activities.

In vitro cellular uptake and dimerization of signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT3) identify the photosensitizing and imaging-potential of isomeric photosensitizers derived from chlorophyll-a and bacteriochlorophyll-a.

Among the photosensitizers investigated, both ring-D and ring-B reduced chlorins containing the m-iodobenzyloxyethyl group at position-3 and a carboxylic acid functionality at position-17(2) showed the highest uptake by tumor cells and light-dependent photoreaction that correlated with maximal tumor-imaging [positron emission tomography (PET) and fluorescence] and long-term photodynamic therapy (PDT) efficacy in BALB/c mice bearing Colon26 tumors. However, among the ring-D reduced compounds, the isomer containing the 1'-m-iobenzyloxyethyl group at position-3 was more effective than the corresponding 8-(1'-m-iodobenzyloxyethyl) derivative. All photosensitizers showed maximum uptake by tumor tissue 24 h after injection, and the tumors exposed with light at low fluence and fluence rates (128 J/cm(2), 14 mW/cm(2)) produced significantly enhanced tumor eradication than those exposed at higher fluence and fluence rate (135 J/cm(2), 75 mW/cm(2)). Interestingly, dose-dependent cellular uptake of the compounds and light-dependent STAT3 dimerization have emerged as sensitive rapid indicators for PDT efficacy in vitro and in vivo and could be used as in vitro/in vivo biomarkers for evaluating and optimizing the in vivo treatment parameters of the existing and new PDT candidates.

Nature: a rich source for developing multifunctional agents. Tumor-imaging and photodynamic therapy.

The purpose of this review is to call attention in the use of chlorophyll-a and bacteriochlorophyll-a to develop more than 600 photosensitizers (lambda (max) 660 nm-800 nm) during the last 15 years (1990-2005) at the Photodynamic Therapy Center, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo. This article mainly includes the chemistry, preclinical results, and brief clinical data of some of the most effective photosensitizers. The utility of the tumor-avid photosensitizers in developing multimodality agents (imaging and therapy) is also presented.