Novel Photodynamic Therapy Agents: Biochemical Analysis

Photodynamic therapy agents are used in variety of medical applications, including reducing the size of tumors, treating skin diseases, and inactivating certain viruses, including HIV-1 and HSV-1. They kill tumors or viruses by direct cell death, loss of oxygen, loss of the nutrient supply, or immune system responses. Research has slowed on the use of organic dyes, aromatic hydrocarbons, polypyrolic complexes, and other compounds as photodynamic therapy agents due to limitations in their biological properties. However, porphyrin compounds with transition metals in their core have great potential as photodynamic therapy drugs. In this paper, DNA gel electrophoresis was used to investigate the potential of novel copper and manganese porphyrins, specifically MnTSPP, MnTECP, MnTDClPP, and MnTTFMPP, as new photodynamic therapy drugs. The porphyrin compounds were activated via two methods: white light and 488 nm laser. UV-Visible spectrometry was used to determine if degradation of porphyrin compounds occurred in photo-activation process.