Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Nanoscopy, Center for Human Technologies Great Campus Erzelli, B building Via Enrico Melen 83, 16152 Genova, Italy; Department of Physics, University of Genova, Via Dodecaneso, 33, 16146 Genova, Italy.
Department of Mathematical, Physical and Computer Sciences, University of Parma, Parco area delle Scienze 7A, 43124 Parma, Italy.
Biophys Chem. 2019 Oct;253:106228. doi: 10.1016/j.bpc.2019.106228. Epub 2019 Jul 18.
The spectral and the photophysical properties of phthalocyanines have made these dyes attractive for applications in photodynamic therapy of cancer. One important known issue of these compounds is their tendency to aggregate in aqueous media, which decreases their fluorescence, triplet, and singlet oxygen quantum yields. We report on the use of apomyoglobin as a carrier for zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) to overcome solubility limitations of the dye. We show that the protein is able to bind ZnPc in monomeric form, preserving its photophysics. Confocal fluorescence imaging of PC3 and HeLa cells, treated with the complex between ZnPc and apomyoglobin, demonstrates that the photosensitizer is uptaken quickly by cells. Illumination of treated cells strongly decreases viability, as demonstrated by live/dead fluorescence assay.
酞菁的光谱和光物理性质使其成为癌症光动力治疗中应用的理想染料。这些化合物的一个重要问题是它们在水介质中容易聚集，从而降低了它们的荧光、三重态和单线态氧量子产率。我们报告了使用脱辅基肌红蛋白作为锌酞菁（ZnPc）的载体来克服染料的溶解度限制。我们表明，该蛋白能够以单体形式结合 ZnPc，同时保持其光物理性质。用 ZnPc 和脱辅基肌红蛋白的复合物处理 PC3 和 HeLa 细胞的共聚焦荧光成像表明，该光敏剂很快被细胞摄取。活/死荧光检测实验表明，光照处理后的细胞活力明显降低。
