V. A. Kuzmin

Novel boronated chlorin e6-based photosensitizers: synthesis, binding to albumin and antitumour efficacy.

Chlorins, a class of plant porphyrins, are perspective as photosensitizing agents due to light absorption in the long wavelength spectral region and deeper photodamage of tissues. Aiming at optimization of antitumour properties of chlorins, we synthesized a series of boronated derivatives of chlorin e(6) and their complexes containing Zn(II), Pd(II) or Sn(IV). The compounds were synthesized by alkylation of amino or hydroxy derivatives of chlorin e(6) with 1-trifluoromethanesulfonylmethyl-o-carborane. Chlorin e(6) 13(1)-N-{2-[N-(o-carboran-1-yl)methyl]aminoethyl}amide-15(2), 17(3)-dimethyl ester (compound 5) formed complexes with serum albumin, a major porphyrin carrier. The binding constant of these complexes was approximately 4 times bigger than the respective value for the complexes of albumin with boron-free aminochlorin e(6). Compound 5 potently sensitized rat fibroblasts to illumination with monochromatic red light: >98% of cells were necrotic by 24h post-illumination with 1 microM of 5. This compound demonstrated high efficacy in photodynamic therapy of rat M-1 sarcoma. After PDT with 25mg/kg of 5 the residual tumours were significantly smaller than in animals subjected to PDT with equal concentration of boron-free aminochlorin e(6). No signs of general toxicity were detectable after PDT with 5. Thus, boronation can enhance the potency of chlorins in PDT, in particular, due to an increased binding to albumin. Our data expand the therapeutic applicability of boronated chlorins beyond boron neutron capture therapy; these agents emerge as dual efficacy photoradiosensitizers.

Spectroscopic studies of the interaction of bichromophoric cyanine dyes with DNA. Effect of ionic strength

Spectroscopic characteristics of a cyanine dye with two chromophores (biscyanine dye, BCD) in aqueous solutions and effects of NaCl and DNA upon these characteristics have been studied by optical absorption, circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence spectroscopies. In homogeneous solutions, BCD is characterized by intense optical absorption (epsilon =1.33 x 10(5) M(-1) x cm(-1)) and weak fluorescence (phi(fl)=0.018) in the wavelength region greater than 600 nm. The dye forms H-aggregates at low concentrations (10(-6) M). NaCl stimulates the formation of both H- and J-aggregates of the dye at much lower dye concentrations, while DNA in low concentrations (<10(-6) M) stimulated the formation of just J-aggregates on the surface of the DNA molecule. Higher DNA concentrations induce the dye to disaggregate, and there exists an equilibrium between three dye forms: free monomers, J-aggregates and bound monomers, the maximum content of J-aggregates was observed at [DNA]/[BCD]=0.6+/-0.2 and total disaggregation at [DNA]/[BCD]=190+/-20. J-aggregates are characterized by phi(fl)=0.05 and bound monomers by phi(fl)=0.44. In the presence of NaCl, total disaggregation was observed at [DNA]/[BCD]=570+/-10 due to competition between Na(+) and the dye molecules for DNA electronegative binding sites.

Laser photolysis study of the spectral-kinetic characteristics of short-lived triplet exciplexes and the mechanism of atomic hydrogen transfer in the course of 2,6-diphenyl-1,4-benzoquinone triplet quenching with aromatic amines

Abstract The spectral-kinetic characteristics of short-lived triplet exciplexes arising in the quenching of 2,6-diphenyl-1,4-benzoquinone triplet with aromatic amines: N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl- p -phenylenediamine, triphenylamine and diphenylamine have been studied by means of the nanosecond laser photolysis technique. The absorption spectra of triplet exciplexes exhibit distinct maxima characteristic of the absorption spectra of corresponding amine radical cations. The state with complete charge transfer gives the basic contribution to the exciplex structures. A detailed analysis is presented of the kinetic and thermodynamic deactivation characteristics of triplet exciplexes in low-polar solvents.

Charge transfer complexing in the course of triplet state quenching of carbocyanine dyes by nitroxyl radical

Abstract Quenching of triplet states of carbocyanine dyes by nitroxyl radical has been investigated by the flash photolysis method. Quenching of triplet state carbocyanine dyes with one polymethyne chain occurs via enhanced intersystem crossing on exchange interaction with the radical. Quenching of triplet state carbocyanine dyes with two polymethyne chains occurs via partial charge transfer in the collision complex with the radical. In the second case, an increase in the dielectric constant of the solvent leads to an increase of the rate of quenching. In high polarity solvents (propanol, methanol) complete electron transfer from dye triplet state to radical occurs. Kinetic and spectral characteristics of a new dye radical (Dye.+) are reported.

The influence of counterion on photochemistry of cationic indopolycarbocyanine dyes in ion pairs

Abstract It has been shown that the rate constant of cis—trans isomerization of cyanine dyes studied decreases significantly with changing the solvent from a polar to a nonpolar one at the expense of ion pair formation (dye cation with anion in nonpolar solvent). This phenomenon is accounted for by an increase in the bond order about which the rotation occurs during isomerization. It is observed that ion pair formation has practically no influence on the triplet state lifetime; a sharp increase in the decay rate of dyes III and VIII triplet state results from the heavy atom effect (I − anion).

Magnetic field effects on radical recombination in a cage and in the bulk of a viscous solvent

Abstract The microsecond flash photolysis of benzophenone, p-quinones, several flavins and the steady-state photolysis of anthraquinone-9.10 in binary mixtures water-glycerol and alcohol-glycerol of various viscosity (1

Extracellular GC-rich DNA activates TLR9- and NF-kB-dependent signaling pathways in human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (haMSCs)

Introduction: The content of GC-rich ribosomal repeats (rDNA) in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) of patients with various diseases is several times higher as compared with genomic DNA (gDNA) and cfDNA of healthy donors. rDNA may act as Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) ligands and affect human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (haMSCs). Here we explore effects of human cfDNAs and model rDNA fragments on cultured haMSCs. Areas covered: Both cfDNAs and cloned rDNA stimulate expression of TLR9 (qRT-PCR). Treatment with cloned rDNA leads to an increase in the number of TLR9+ cells (FACS), expression levels for both TLR9 and Myd88, the translocation of nuclear factor-kappa B to the nuclei and up-regulation of TNFα and IL-10 cytokines (ELISA). As shown by an analysis of γH2AX-foci and MTT test, the preconditioning of haMSCs with cloned rDNA fragment increases the resistance of these cells to irradiation at 2Gy, while the treatments with control gDNA did not stimulate either TLR9- or NF-kB-dependent signaling pathways. Expert opinion: GC-rich sequences present in cfDNA stimulate endogenous stems cells when body is exposed to adverse conditions. GC-rich fragments of human DNA may be used for preconditioning of therapeutic MSCs aiming at an increase in their survival in the ailing body.

Ultrafast excited state proton transfer dynamics of 1,2-dihydroquinolines in methanol solution

Femtosecond and picosecond dynamics of 2,2,4,6-tetramethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline (1) and 1,2,2,4,6-pentamethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline (2) were studied in MeOH, MeOD, and Pr(i)OH to probe the early events of the photoinduced proton transfer (PT) between 1,2-dihydroquinolines (DHQ) and a solvent. From studies in the two solvents MeOH and Pr(i)OH and by examining the effect of deuterium replacement of proton, it has been established that PT takes 150-200 fs in MeOH, but does not occur in Pr(i)OH. The formation of PT products in the ground state proceeds concurrently to the relaxation of the higher vibrational excited singlet state to the thermally equilibrated state S(1) of DHQ. The absorption spectrum of the S(1) state was registered, and the time constant of its decay in MeOH (ca. 1 ns) agrees well with the lifetime of fluorescence measured recently by single photon counting.

Effects of chromophore interaction in photophysics and photochemistry of cyanine dyes

Spectral and fluorescent properties of ketocyanine dyes (polyenic bis-ω,ω′-aminoketones) and cation-anionic polymethine dyes of various structures were studied. The symmetric ketocyanines were shown to have a long-wavelength absorption band bathochromically shifted in comparison with that of the asymmetric ketocyanines with the same total length of the polyenic chain. The nonlinear ketocyanines exhibit the additional short-wavelength band in their absorption spectra, which can be more intense than the longwavelength band. The absorption spectra of ion pairs of cation-anionic dyes with overlapping cation and anion bands contain a new intense short-wavelength band inactive in fluorescence excitation. These spectral peculiarities are explained on the basis of chromophore interaction model. It has also been shown that the T1 levels of ketocyanine chromophores do not essentially interact with each other in a ketocyanine molecule in nonpolar solvents; in polar solvents this interaction becomes appreciable due to lowering the potential barrier for conjugation.

Triplet quenching of polycyclic hydrocarbons by electron acceptors

Abstract The rate constants for triplet quenching of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by substituted nitro-benzenes and quinones in solution have been determined using flash photolysis measurements. The quenching constants and activation energies depend only on the proximity of charge transfer level to hydrocarbon triplet level of any quencher-quenchee pair. It has been established that triplet deactivation is induced by an exciplex.