Photodestruction of endogenous porphyrins in relation to cellular inactivation of Propionibacterium acnes.

During growth of Propionibacterium acnes on Eagles medium protoporphyrin was accumulated inside the cells and coproporphyrin, both as a free base as metalcontaining, outside the cells. The photochemical processes in the endogenous porphyrins were studied by fluorescence spectroscopy during continuous irradiation of Propionibacterium acnes in suspension. The irradiation caused initially an increase in the content of protoporphyrin in the cells in comparison to that which had been accumulated during growth. Maximum light induced protoporphyrin production was achieved in 5 days old cultures. In old cultures where there was practically no initial protoporphyrin release, the fluorescence intensities from all the porphyrins present in the culture vanished exponentially with the irradiation time. The metal containing form of fluorescent coproporphyrin, with a maximum emission at 580 nm, was photobleached about ten times faster than the free base forms of coproporphyrin and protoporphyrin. Among these three fluorescent substances in the cell culture only the free base forms of the porphyrins have longer lifetimes than the cells themselves irradiated at the same conditions.