Positively charged zinc containing or metal free phthalocyanines 6a-c and 7a-c were prepared via a three step procedure starting from 4-nitrophthalonitrile. The phthalocyanines contain alkyl chains of different length in order to influence the hydrophilic vs lipophilic character of the compounds. The partition between a hydrophilic (water) and lipophilic (octanol-1) phase was determined, and the photoredox activities were investigated. Initial results on the photodynamic activity of these compounds were compared with those of Dougherty's Photofrin II on different malignant and non-malignant cell lines (XP 29MAmal, CX1, HeLa, S180 and NO17). Positively charged phthalocyanines in vitro showed a higher photodynamic activity than Photofrin II.

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202 MHz 31P NMR (11.7 T) was used to study the effects of culture medium pH on the levels of phosphate metabolites in three human tumor cell lines (XP29MAmal, a malignant xeroderma pigmentosum; CX-1, a colon carcinoma; KB, a squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity). Cells were cultured in Roux flasks in HAM's F-12 medium, and the pH was varied with the final medium change. After harvesting, 1-5 x 10(8) cells were suspended in Ringer/HEPES buffer at pH 7.4 and 4 degrees C for 31P NMR studies. Cell adhesion and growth rate decreased with decreasing pH, but, down to ca pH 6.1, trypan blue exclusion and the observed levels of nucleoside di- and triphosphates (range: 22-37% of total phosphates detected), phosphocreatine (PCr, 2-5%) and Pi (5-11%) did not vary significantly with pH. For XP29MAmal cells in exponential growth phosphocholine levels decreased from 18-28% at pH 7.0 to ca 5% at pH 6.0, while phosphoethanolamine levels increased from 2-7% to 15%. Glycerophosphocholine (GPC) levels increased from ca 7% at pH 7.2 to 13% at pH 6.3. At pH less than 6.3 cytidine 5'-diphosphate (CDP) choline became detectable (8-16%, delta p:P alpha = -8.13 ppm, P beta = 8.93 ppm, for PCr = 0 ppm). However, confluent cells did not accumulate CDP-choline when the pH was lowered. The cell lines CX-1 and KB also showed the pH effects described herein.

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