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In this study, we report a gas-forming drug carrier engineered using the liposomal magnetoporation method. The liposomes that were magnetoporated under a magnetic shear stress possessed an opened lipid bilayer hole. A photosensitizing model drug (chlorin e6: Ce6) and 1H-1H-2H-perfluoro-1-hexene (PFH, as a volatile gas-forming agent) were efficiently loaded into the opened holes of the magnetoporated liposomes. PFH in the liposomes is vaporized at 50°C and can initiate liposome destabilization. The experimental results demonstrated that the liposomes were destabilized at 50°C efficiently released Ce6 and enhanced Ce6-mediated phototoxicity against KB tumor cells. As a result, these liposomes induced a significantly increased in vitro and in vivo photodynamic tumor inhibition., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The accessory gene regulator (agr) of Staphylococcus aureus coordinates various pathogenic events and is recognized as a promising therapeutic target for virulence control. S. aureus utilizes autoinducing peptides (AIPs), cyclic-peptide signaling molecules, to mediate the agr system. Despite the high potency of synthetic AIP analogues in agr inhibition, the potential of AIP molecules as a delivery vehicle for antibacterial agents remains unexplored. Herein, we report that truncated AIP scaffolds can be fused with fluorophore and cytotoxic photosensitizer molecules without compromising their high agr inhibitory activity, binding affinity to the receptor AgrC, or cell specificity. Strikingly, a photosensitizer-AIP conjugate exhibited 16-fold greater efficacy in a S. aureus cell-killing assay than a nontargeting analogue. These findings highlight the potential of truncated AIP conjugates as useful chemical tools for in-depth biological studies and as effective anti-S. aureus agents.

Solar UVB is carcinogenic. Nucleotide excision repair (NER) counteracts the carcinogenicity of UVB by excising potentially mutagenic UVB-induced DNA lesions. Despite this capacity for DNA repair, non-melanoma skin cancers and apparently normal sun-exposed skin contain huge numbers of mutations that are mostly attributable to unrepaired UVB-induced DNA lesions. UVA is about 20-times more abundant than UVB in incident sunlight. It does cause some DNA damage but this does not fully account for its biological impact. The effects of solar UVA are mediated by its interactions with cellular photosensitizers that generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) and induce oxidative stress. The proteome is a significant target for damage by UVA-induced ROS. In cultured human cells, UVA-induced oxidation of DNA repair proteins inhibits DNA repair. This article addresses the possible role of oxidative stress and protein oxidation in determining DNA repair efficiency - with particular reference to NER and skin cancer risk., (Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease affecting 2-5% of the population worldwide and it severely affects patient quality of life. In this study, an amphiphilic zinc phthalocyanine polymer conjugate (ZPB) was synthesized, in which zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) was conjugated with the poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chain of Brij 58. ZPB showed two maximum UV-vis absorption wavelengths, 348 nm and 678 nm. A monomolecular micelle of ZPB formed in water with a mean size of 25 nm and zeta potential of -15 mV. The nanostructures aggregated into cloudy precipitates, which were easily dispersed. The nanostructure showed the shell-core structure with the ZnPc segments as the core and the PEG chains as the shell. The anti-psoriasis effect of the ZPB nanostructure was explored using a guinea pig psoriasis model. After comparing the anti-psoriasis effects of saline, light alone, ZPB alone, and the combination of light and ZPB, the combination of light and ZPB showed the best photodynamic therapy of psoriasis based on the light excitation of the photosensitizer ZPB and the psoriasis was nearly cured according to the histopathological investigation. The ZPB nanostructure is a promising anti-psoriasis nanomedicine based on photodynamic therapy., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Hypericin and hypocrellin are potential antiviral and antineoplastic agents with multiple modes of light-induced biological activity connected with a production of singlet oxygen and/or excited-state proton transfer and consequent pH drop formation in the drugs environment. In present work light-induced cytotoxicity of hypericin (1 x 10(-5) - 10(-9) mol) and hypocrellin (1 x 10(-5) - 10(-9) mol) and potentiating effect of omeprazole on human leukemic cell line HL-60 was studied. Under dark condition cultivation none cytotoxicity was observed. The only one exception was hypocrellin in concentration 1 x 10(-5) mol which displayed full cytotoxic effect. However, illumination increased cytotoxic effect of hypericin and hypocrellin, both. Omeprazole, an inhibitor of H+K+-ATPase, has been used for testing the hypothetical pH decreasing effect of hypericin and hypocrellin in their cytotoxic mechanism of action. The results of our experiments have shown that in HL-60 cell line the effect of hypericin and hypocrellin at 1 x 10(-6) mol (both) was significantly potentiated by omeprazole in concentrations 1 x 10(-6) - 10(-9) mol. Our results support the hypothesis that the excited-state proton transfer and the consequent acidification of hypericin and hypocrellin environment could play a role in the biological activity of both agents.