Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012;2(9):916-66.
doi: 10.7150/thno.4571. Epub 2012 Oct 4.

Unique diagnostic and therapeutic roles of porphyrins and phthalocyanines in photodynamic therapy, imaging and theranostics

Leanne B Josefsen  1 , Ross W Boyle
Affiliations

Unique diagnostic and therapeutic roles of porphyrins and phthalocyanines in photodynamic therapy, imaging and theranostics

Leanne B Josefsen et al. Theranostics. 2012.

Abstract

Porphyrinic molecules have a unique theranostic role in disease therapy; they have been used to image, detect and treat different forms of diseased tissue including age-related macular degeneration and a number of different cancer types. Current focus is on the clinical imaging of tumour tissue; targeted delivery of photosensitisers and the potential of photosensitisers in multimodal biomedical theranostic nanoplatforms. The roles of porphyrinic molecules in imaging and pdt, along with research into improving their selective uptake in diseased tissue and their utility in theranostic applications are highlighted in this Review.

Keywords: imaging; nanoagents; phototherapy; tetrapyrrolic photosensitisers; theranostics.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Porphine Macrocycle.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Phthalocyanine (PC).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Typical Porphyrin Absorption Spectrum (Etio type).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Clinical Procedure For Pdt.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Photosensitiser Initiated Cell Death.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Examples of Non-Porphyrin and Porphyrin Based Photosensitisers.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Examples Of Typical Singlet Oxygen Reactions.
Figure 8
Figure 8
A Simplified Jablonski Diagram.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Copper Octaethylbenzochlorin.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Eosin.
Figure 11
Figure 11
HpD, Photofrin®, n= 1-9.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Clinically Approved Photosensitisers.
Figure 13
Figure 13
Zinc-Metallated Porphyrazine.
Figure 14
Figure 14
Naphthalocyanine (NC).
Figure 15
Figure 15
Water-Soluble Cationic Metallated Porphyrins.
Figure 16
Figure 16
5,10-Di-(4-sulphonatophenyl)-15,20-diphenylporphyrinato aluminium chloride.
Figure 17
Figure 17
Unsubstituted ZnPC.
Figure 18
Figure 18
Glycosylated Porphyrins.
Figure 19
Figure 19
NCS Porphyrin And Isothiocyanate-Amine Coupling Reaction.
Figure 20
Figure 20
TOOKAD®
Figure S1
Figure S1
Scheme 1. Simplified Haem Biosynthesis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Anderson HL. Building molecular wires from the colours of life: conjugated porphyrin oligomers. Chem Commun. 1999;23:2323–2330.
    1. Milgrom LR. An introduction to the chemistry of porphyrins and related compounds. In: Milgrom LR, editor. The Colours of Life, 1st ed. New York: The Oxford University Press; 1997. p. 1. 16, 48-57; 70, 71, 78-80, 84 and 85.
    1. Sternberg ED, Dolphin D, Brückner C. Porphyrin-based photosensitizers for use in photodynamic therapy. Tetrahedron. 1998;54:4151–4202.
    1. Sharman WM, Allen CM, van Lier JE. Photodynamic therapeutics: basic principles and clinical applications. Drug Disc Today. 1999;4:507–517. - PubMed
    1. Castano AP, Demidova TN, Hamblin MR. Mechanisms in photodynamic therapy: part one - photosensitizers, photochemistry and cellular localization. Photodiagnosis Photodynamic Ther. 2004;1:279–293. - PMC - PubMed