Porphyrinoid biohybrid materials as an emerging toolbox for biomedical light management

Abstract

The development of photoactive and biocompatible nanomaterials is a current major challenge of materials science and nanotechnology, as they will contribute to promoting current and future biomedical applications. A growing strategy in this direction consists of using biologically inspired hybrid materials to maintain or even enhance the optical properties of chromophores and fluorophores in biological media. Within this area, porphyrinoids constitute the most important family of organic photosensitizers. The following extensive review will cover their incorporation into different kinds of photosensitizing biohybrid materials, as a fundamental research effort toward the management of light for biomedical use, including technologies such as photochemical internalization (PCI), photoimmunotherapy (PIT), and theranostic combinations of fluorescence imaging and photodynamic therapy (PDT) or photodynamic inactivation (PDI) of microorganisms.

Crosswise Phthalocyanines with Collinear Functionalization: New Paradigmatic Derivatives for Efficient Singlet Oxygen Photosensitization

“…In fact, these ABAB‐type ZnPcs constitute a new paradigm for PDT photosensitizers . Moreover, the geometry of these derivatives and the presence of amino, carboxylic acid, vinyl or ethynyl moieties permits to build third‐generation photosensitizers, where the ZnPc can be covalently conjugated to two site‐specific delivery agents affording solubility in physiological media and selective accumulation within the targeted tissue . Therefore, it appears of interest to establish the singlet oxygen generation capabilities of this family of compounds.…”

Phthalocyanine–Virus Nanofibers as Heterogeneous Catalysts for Continuous‐Flow Photo‐Oxidation Processes

“…In particular, molecular oxygen as oxidation source has gained focused attention, as it is considered as an environmental‐friendly approach . In this direction, organic chromophores such as porphyrinoids have been employed to convert nonreactive O 2 into reactive oxygen species (ROS) at room temperature, with wide application in nanomedicine and catalysis . Dye‐containing heterogeneous catalysts can be easily separated from the reaction medium, offering advantages for scale‐up and continuous‐flow processes.…”

Development of albumin macroinitiator for polymers to use in DNA origami coating

“…However, taking into account the accessibility, selectivity and immune responseserum albumin is an easily accessible candidate for coating. Serum albumin is the most abundant blood protein, and has long serum half-life and widely used in clinically approved applications in drug delivery [37,38]. The thiol-maleimide chemistry is frequently used for specific conjugation utilizing cysteine residue in serum albumin [39][40][41][42].…”