Dendrimeric-like hexadecahydroxylated zinc phthalocyanine. Synthesis and evaluation of photodynamic efficiency

The design of a dendrimeric-like diglycerol-tetrasubstituted Zn ( II ) phthalocyanine resulted in a remarkably water-soluble compound due to the presence of 16 hydroxyls. Several parameters relevant to evaluate the photodynamic efficiency of a potentiel photosensitizer such as: aggregation behavior, fluorescence properties, singlet oxygen generation, binding to a carrier protein model (Bovine Serum Albumin) and partition coefficient have been measured. Biocompatibility was demonstrated by dark cytotoxicity in in vitro experiments. The absence of phototoxicity can be explained by an elevated hydrophilicity. All the collected data have confirmed that this new substitution pattern is promising to be used on phthalocyanines aiming at being photodynamic therapy agents.