In this work, cationic meso-arylsubstituted porphyrin and its Zn(II) complex were synthesized. The compounds were characterized by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, electronic spectroscopy and ESI-mass spectrometry. The photodynamic activity of the porphyrins was studied in relation to S. aureus bacteria and their biofilms. Application of polymeric micelles of Pluronic F-127 as nanosized delivery vehicles supports high antimicrobial photodynamic activity of the synthesized porphyrins. The influence of the central metal atom on the dark and light-induced toxicity of the synthesized compounds was revealed.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) in oncology is characterized by low invasiveness, minimal side effects, and little tissue scarring. Increasing the selectivity of PDT agents toward a cellular target is a new approach intended to improve this method. This study is devoted to the design and synthesis of a new conjugate based on meso-arylporphyrin with a low-molecular-weight tyrosine kinase inhibitor, Erlotinib. A nano-formulation based on Pluronic F127 micelles was obtained and characterized. The photophysical and photochemical properties and biological activity of the studied compounds and their nano-formulation were studied. A significant, 20–40-fold difference between the dark and photoinduced activity was achieved for the conjugate nanomicelles. After irradiation, the studied conjugate nanomicelles were 1.8 times more toxic toward the EGFR-overexpressing cell line MDA-MB-231 compared to the conditionally normal NKE cells. The IC50 was 0.073 ± 0.014 μM for the MDA-MB-231 cell line and 0.13 ± 0.018 μM for NKE cells after irradiation for the target conjugate nanomicelles.