Volume 131, Issue 40 pp. 14472-14478
Forschungsartikel

Polymeric Encapsulation of Novel Homoleptic Bis(dipyrrinato) Zinc(II) Complexes with Long Lifetimes for Applications as Photodynamic Therapy Photosensitisers

Johannes Karges

Johannes Karges

Chimie ParisTech, PSL University, CNRS, Institute of Chemistry for Life and Health Sciences, Laboratory for Inorganic Chemical Biology, 75005 Paris, France

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Dr. Uttara Basu

Dr. Uttara Basu

Chimie ParisTech, PSL University, CNRS, Institute of Chemistry for Life and Health Sciences, Laboratory for Inorganic Chemical Biology, 75005 Paris, France

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Dr. Olivier Blacque

Dr. Olivier Blacque

Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland

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Prof. Hui Chao

Corresponding Author

Prof. Hui Chao

MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinorganic and Synthetic Chemistry, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, 510275 Guangzhou, P. R. China

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Dr. Gilles Gasser

Corresponding Author

Dr. Gilles Gasser

Chimie ParisTech, PSL University, CNRS, Institute of Chemistry for Life and Health Sciences, Laboratory for Inorganic Chemical Biology, 75005 Paris, France

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First published: 06 August 2019
Citations: 26

Abstract

The use of photodynamic therapy (PDT) to treat cancer has received increasing attention over the last years. However, the clinically used photosensitisers (PSs) have some limitations that include poor aqueous solubility, hepatotoxicity, photobleaching, aggregation, and slow clearance from the body, so the design of new classes of PSs is of great interest. We present the use of bis(dipyrrinato)zinc(II) complexes with exceptionally long lifetimes as efficient PDT PSs. Based on the heavy-atom effect, intersystem crossing of these complexes changes the excited state from singlet to a triplet state, thereby enabling singlet oxygen generation. To overcome the limitation of quenching effects in water and improve water solubility, the lead compound 3 was encapsulated in a polymer matrix. It showed impressive phototoxicity upon irradiation at 500 nm in various monolayer cancer cells as well as 3D multicellular tumour spheroids, without observed dark toxicity.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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