Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) is an emerging treatment for bacterial infections that is becoming increasingly more attractive because of its effectiveness against multi-antibiotic-resistant strains and unlikelihood of inducing bacterial resistance. Among the strategies to enhance the efficacy of PDT against Gram-negative bacteria, the binding to a cationic antimicrobial peptide offers the attractive prospect for improving both the water solubilty and the localization of the photoactive drug in bacteria. In this work we have compared a number of free and apidaecin-conjugated photosensitizers (PSs) differing in structure and charge. Our results indicate that the conjugation of per se ineffective highly hydrophobic PSs to a cationic peptide produces a photosensitizing agent effective against Gram-negative bacteria. Apidaecin cannot improve the phototoxic activity of cationic PSs, which mainly depends on a very high yield of singlet oxygen production in the surroundings of the bacterial outer membrane. Apidaecin-PS conjugates appear most promising for treatment protocols requiring repeated washing after sensitizer delivery.

A series of derivatives of 5,10,15,20-tetrakis-(4-N-methylpyridyl)-porphine, where one N-methyl group was replaced by a hydrocarbon chain ranging from C6 to C22, were characterized for their photophysical and photosensitizing properties. The absorption and fluorescence features of the various compounds in neutral aqueous solutions were typical of largely monomeric porphyrins, with the exception of the C22 derivative, which appeared to be extensively aggregated. This was confirmed by the very low triplet quantum yield and lifetime of the C22 derivative as compared with 0.2-0.7 quantum yields and 88-167 micros lifetimes for the other porphyrins. The photophysical properties and photosensitizing activity toward N-acetyl-L-tryptophanamide of the C22 porphyrin became comparable to those typical of the other derivatives in 2% aqueous sodium dodecyl sulfate, where the C22 compound is fully monomerized. All the porphyrin derivatives exhibited at micromolar concentrations photoinactivation activity against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, even though the gram-negative bacteria were markedly less photosensitive. The photosensitizing efficiency was influenced by (1) the amount of cell-bound porphyrin, which increased with increasing length of the hydrocarbon chain; and (2) the tendency to undergo partial aggregation in the cell, which seems to be especially important for the C22 derivative.

A novel Zn(II)-phthalocyanine (1). peripherally substituted with four bis(N,N,N-trimethyl)amino-2-propyloxy groups prepared by chemical synthesis is shown to be an efficient photodynamic sensitizer with a quantum yield of 0.6 for singlet oxygen generation in neat water, which is reduced to about 0.3 in phosphate-buffered saline. The physicochemical properties of 1 in both the ground and the electronically excited states strongly depend on the nature of the medium; in particular, aggregation of 1 was favoured by polar media of high ionic strength. Compound 1 exhibited an appreciable affinity for a typical Gram-positive bacterium (Staphylococcus aureus) and a typical Gram-negative bacterium (Escherichia coli). Both bacterial strains were extensively inactivated upon 5 min-irradiation with 675 nm light in the presence of 1 microM photosensitizer, even though the binding of 1 to the two bacterial cells appears to occur according to different pathways. In particular, E. coli cells underwent initial photodamage at the level of specific proteins in the outer wall, thus promoting the penetration of the photosensitizer to the cytoplasmic membrane where some enzymes critical for cell survival were inactivated.

In the attempt to develop novel concepts in designing targeted nanoparticles for combination therapy of cancer, we propose here CD44-targeted hyaluronan-decorated double-coated nanoparticles (dcNPs) delivering the lipophilic chemotherapeutic docetaxel (DTX) and an anionic porphyrin (TPPS₄). dcNPs are based on electrostatic interactions between a negative DTX-loaded nanoscaffold of poly(lactide-co-glycolide), a polycationic shell of polyethyleneimine entangling negatively-charged TPPS₄ and finally decorated with hyaluronan (HA) to promote internalization through CD44 receptor-mediated endocytosis. DTX/TPPS₄-dcNPs, prepared through layer-by-layer deposition, showed a hydrodynamic diameter of around 180 nm, negative zeta potential and efficient loading of both DTX and TPPS₄. DTX/TPPS₄-dcNPs were freeze-dried with trehalose giving a powder that could be easily dispersed in different media. Excellent stability of dcNPs in specific salt- and protein-containing media was found. Spectroscopic behavior of DTX/TPPS₄-dcNPs demonstrated a face-to-face arrangement of the TPPS₄ units in non-photoresponsive H-type aggregates accounting for an extensive aggregation of the porphyrin embedded in the shell. Experiments in MDA-MB-231 cells overexpressing the CD44 receptor demonstrated a 9.4-fold increase in the intracellular level of TPPS₄ delivered from dcNPs as compared to free TPPS₄. Light-induced death increased tremendously in cells that had been treated with a combination of TPPS₄ and DTX delivered through dcNPs as compared with free drugs, presumably due to efficient uptake and co-localization inside the cells. In perspective, the strategy proposed here to target synergistic drug combinations through HA-decorated nanoparticles seems very attractive to improve the specificity and efficacy of cancer treatment.

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