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Molecular mechanisms associated with the anti-/pro-oxidative properties of carotenoids (CARs) are described in organic solvents, micro-heterogeneous environments and model lipid membranes and in cellular suspensions. Singlet oxygen is important in the skin and eye and CARs are efficient singlet oxygen (SO) quenchers with corresponding rate constants near diffusion controlled (typically app. 10¹⁰ M⁻¹ s⁻¹) with lycopene (LYC) exhibiting the most efficient quenching in organic solvents. However, in membrane environments there is little or no difference in the quenching efficiency between the dietary CARs. Furthermore, aggregation of CARs, particularly those in the macula (lutein and zeaxanthin), markedly reduces SO quenching efficiency. Free radical interactions with CARs leads to at least three processes, electron and hydrogen atom transfer and adduct formation. The most studied is electron transfer where the CAR loses an electron to become a radical cation. The reactivity/lifetime of such CAR radicals may lead to a switch from anti- to pro-oxidant behaviour of CARs. These reactions are related to CAR redox potentials with LYC being the lowest (most easily oxidised) allowing LYC to reduce/repair all other CAR radical cations and LYC 'sacrificed' where mixtures of CARs are present in oxidative environments. Such redox-controlled reactions may lead to deleterious as well as beneficial health effects.

Phototherapy of newborn infants with blue or green light is the most common treatment of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Using bilirubin bound to human lymphoid and basal skin cells we obtained the green light dose dependency of the bilirubin phototoxicity to these cell types. Cells (3-5 x 10(6)/mL) were incubated with bilirubin complexed to human serum albumin (final concentrations 340 microM bilirubin, 150 microM albumin). Under these conditions all cells showed maximum binding of bilirubin. Irradiation with broadband green light (lambda max = 512 nm) over 24 h led to a light dose-dependent population of cells, which contained no bilirubin on the cell membrane as determined by Nomarski interference microscopy. The light-induced mechanism of the disappearance of bilirubin caused lethal membrane damage to the cells (trypan blue exclusion test). The cell kill rate increased with the irradiation dose and with the fraction of cells with no bilirubin. When 90% of lymphoid cells were bilirubin free, 46% of them were dead (using 480 J cm-1 green light). Similar results were obtained with basal skin cells. In addition, bilirubin-induced damage of cell membrane and nuclear membrane was also shown by transmission electron microscopy. Bilirubin (340 microM) in the dark led to 5% of the cells being killed. Basal skin cells bind 2.5 times more bilirubin molecules than lymphoid cells and showed a different bilirubin disappearance. Irradiation of bilirubin in carbon tetrachloride with 514.5 nm laser light showed generation of singlet oxygen via its luminescence at 1270 nm. These results demonstrate that green light phototherapy of hyperbilirubinemia may cause both skin and immune system damage.

C(60)-fullerene derivatives are potential building blocks in modular carrier systems for selective tumor targeting. In [5:1] fullerene hexakis adducts, one position can be occupied by an addressing unit (e.g. monoclonal antibody) while the other five positions are suitable for dendrimers or spacers loaded with several drug moieties. This article reports intracellular uptake and phototoxicity of three fullerene hexakis adducts coupled with a different number of photosensitizers: a bis(3(1),3(2)-didehydrophytochlorin)-fullerene [5:1]-hexaadduct (FHP1), a fullerene [5:1]-hexaadduct with six 3(1),3(2)-didehydrophytochlorin groups (FHP6) and a fullerene [6:0]-hexaadduct that carries 12 3(1),3(2)-didehydrophytochlorin units (FHP12). The most promising complex, the hexa-3(1),3(2)-didehydrophytochlorin fullerene hexaadduct FHP6, was also compared with its fullerene-free analogous derivative P6. It was found that the extent of intracellular uptake is influenced by both nanomolecular size and asymmetry (amphiphilicity) of the fullerene complexes. The degree and mechanism of phototoxicity was found to depend on intracellular concentrations and singlet oxygen quantum yields.