Ana María Edwards

Toluidine blue O (TBO) is a water‐soluble photosensitizer that has been used in photodynamic antimicrobial and anticancer treatments, but suffers from limited solubility in hydrophobic media. In an effort to incrementally increase TBO’s hydrophobicity, we describe the synthesis of hexanoic (TBOC6) and myristic (TBOC14) fatty acid derivatives of TBO formed in low to moderate percent yields by condensation with the free amine site. Covalently linking 6 and 14 carbon chains led to modifications of not only TBO’s solubility, but also its photophysical and photochemical properties. TBOC6 and TBOC14 derivatives were more soluble in organic solvents and showed hypsochromic shifts in their absorption and emission bands. The solubility in phosphate buffer solution was low for both TBOC6 and TBOC14, but unexpectedly slightly greater in the latter. Both TBOC6 and TBOC14 showed decreased triplet excited‐state lifetimes and singlet oxygen quantum yields in acetonitrile, which was attributed to heightened aggregation of these conjugates particularly at high concentrations due to the hydrophobic “tails.” While in diluted aqueous buffer solution, indirect measurements showed similar efficiency in singlet oxygen generation for TBOC14 compared to TBO. This work demonstrates a facile synthesis of fatty acid TBO derivatives leading to amphiphilic compounds with a delocalized cationic “head” group and hydrophobic “tails” for potential to accumulate into biological membranes or membrane/aqueous interfaces in PDT applications.

Experiments and theoretical calculations by density functional theory (DFT) have been carried out to examine a self-sensitized type I photooxidation of toluidine blue O (TBO+). This study attempts to build a connection between visible-light photolysis and demethylation processes of methylamine compounds, such as TBO+. We show that controlled photo-induced mono- and double-demethylation of TBO+ can be achieved. The kinetics for the appearance rate of the mono-demethylated TBO+ and the double-demethylated TBO+ were found to fit pseudo first order kinetics. DFT calculations have been used to examine the demethylation of TBO+ and included N,N-dimethylaniline as a model compound for TBO+. The results show an oxygen-dependent demethylation process. The mechanism for the sequential methyl loss is proposed to be due to H∙ or e−/H+ transfer to 3TBO+* followed by a reaction of TBO+∙ with O2 yielding a C-peroxyTBO+∙ intermediate. Instead of aminyl radical peroxyl formation, i.e., N-peroxyTBO+∙, the C-centered peroxyTBO+∙ is favored, that upon dimerization (Russell mechanism) leads to dissociation of formaldehyde from the methylamine site.

Despite the extended use and well-documented information, there are insufficient reports concerning the effects of propranolol on the structure and functions of cell membranes, particularly those of human erythrocytes. Aimed to better understand the molecular mechanisms of its interactions with cell membranes, human erythrocyte and molecular models of the red cell membrane were utilized. The latter consisted of bilayers of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and dimyristoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DMPE), representative of phospholipid classes located in the outer and inner monolayers of the human erythrocyte membrane, respectively. The capacity of propranolol to perturb the multibilayer structures of DMPC and DMPE was evaluated by X-ray diffraction. Moreover, we took advantage of the capability of differential scanning calorimetry to detect the changes in the thermotropic phase behavior of lipid bilayers resulting from propranolol interaction with DMPC and DMPE multilamellar vesicles. In an attempt to further elucidate their effects on cell membranes, the present work also examined their influence on the morphology of intact human erythrocytes by means of defocusing and scanning electron microscopy. Results indicated that propranolol induced morphological changes to human erythrocytes and interacted in a concentration-dependent manner with phospholipid bilayer.

Silylation of riboflavin allowed its incorporation into spherical SiO₂ nanoparticles that were able to generate singlet oxygen and oxidize human serum albumin while conferring riboflavin remarkable photostability.

Flavins are a family of yellow-colored compounds with the basic structure of 7,8-dimethyl-10-alkylisoalloxazine. Riboflavin, commonly known as vitamin B2, is an essential component of living organisms and is the precursor of all biologically important flavins. In this chapter, the redox properties of flavins are described, with special emphasis in their ability to participate in both one-electron and two-electron transfer processes; hence, flavins are indispensable mediators between two-electron and one-electron processes in biological systems. The photophysical and photochemical properties of flavins are also discussed. All oxidized flavins exhibit strong absorption in the ultraviolet and visible regions and an intense yellow-green fluorescence (in their neutral oxidized form). Flavins are thermostable compounds; however, they are photosensitive. In the absence of an external reductant, the isoalloxazine ring system undergoes intramolecular photoreduction. Some flavins are efficient photosensitizers; they can induce photomodifications of compounds that are not directly modified by visible light.