The effect of two porphyrine photosensitizers TMPyP and ZnTPPS for application in photodynamic therapy of cancer cells in vitro.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is one of the treatments for cancer. This therapy uses a combination of a photosensitizer (PS), light irradiation, and oxygen O, which is converted to cytotoxic O and other forms of reactive oxygen species (ROS), causing selective damage to the target tissue. In this work, we studied effect of two porphyrin photosensitizers TMPyP and ZnTPPS at three different concentrations (0.25, 0.5, 5μM) after two irradiation doses (5 and 25 J/cm). Photodynamic efect of TMPyP and ZnTPPS were confirmed by a battery of in vitro tests including MTT, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and mitochondrial membrane potential test (MMP). Morphological changes of the cells before and after treatment were imaged by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The most effective combination of irradiation dose and concentration for both PSs showed a concentration of 5 μM and a irradiation dose of 25 J/cm in both cell cultures.