V. N. Luzgina

Carboranylporphyrins for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy of Cancer

A major challenge for cancer treatment is the preferential and irreversible killing of tumor cells and minimal damage of normal tissues, both in the site of the malignancy and in the body. The agents used in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) are supposed to have the following advantages over many conventional chemotherapeutics: 1) when irradiated with thermal neutrons, an unstable isotope (11)B is formed whose rapid decay yields local and a thermal effect; 2) because the free path of the released particles is close to the cell diameter, the tissues outside the tumor should gain less damage; 3) local radioactivity and heat should be harmful for cells that, in the course of their natural history, acquired the determinants of altered response to many toxic stimuli. However, a higher specificity of damage would be achieved if the drugs accumulate mostly in cancer cells rather than in non-malignant counterparts. Therefore, optimization of agents for BNCT presumes the design of chemicals with improved accumulation/ retention in cancer cells. In particular, carboranyl-substituted porphyrins, the stable conjugates of macrocyclic porphyrins with complex boron-containing polyhedra, are considered good candidates for BNCT due to their uptake by cancer cells and high boron content. Importantly, the proposed mechanisms of pharmacological effects of carboranylporphyrins make these compounds potentially appropriate for elimination of pleiotropically resistant tumor cells.

Porphyrin photosensitizers solubilized with pluronics in the oxidation of tryptophan

It was shown that water-insoluble porphyrins solubilized with pluronics (ternary block copolymers of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide) efficiently transfer photoexcitation energy to molecular oxygen dissolved in aqueous media to excite it into the singlet state, which is active in oxidizing organic substrates. It was established that the degree of solubilization of porphyrin photosensitizers (PPSs) γ defined as the proportion of PPS molecules passed into the aqueous phase in the dissolution of formed films depends on a single parameter, the initial ratio between the porphyrin and pluronic molar concentrations q. γ = γ(q) dependences for the solubilization of dissimilar water-insoluble porphyrins were analyzed. It was shown that the behavior of all the obtained γ = γ(q) dependences is changed at a characteristic value qmax: when q š qmax, γ ∼ 1, and, when q ≥ ?qmax, the degree of solubilization decreases. It was concluded that solubilized porphyrins are efficient photosensitizers in the oxidation of organic substrates (tryptophan).

The influence of amphiphilic polymers on the photocatalytic activity of water-soluble porphyrin photosensitizers

The influence of amphiphilic polymers polyvinylpyrrolidone, poly(ethylene oxide), poly(vinyl alcohol), and pluronic F127 (propylene oxide-ethylene oxide triblock copolymer) on the catalytic activity of a number of water-soluble metal-free porphyrin photosensitizers was studied in the reaction of tryptophan photooxidation in aqueous solution. The introduction of the specified polymers was found to enhance the activity of carbon-substituted tetrafluorophenylporpyrin, photoditazine, and dimegin. It was ascertained that introduction of polyvinylpyrrolidone had the strongest effect on the increase in the photooxidation process rate; the change in the activity of porphyrins was 30–70%. The introduction of poly(ethylene oxide), poly(vinyl alcohol), and pluronic F127 was shown to enhance the rate of the process by 10–40%. It was concluded that this polymer effect was connected with the dissociation of aggregates, in which form porphyrin molecules were present in aqueous solutions, as indicated by an increase in fluorescence intensity of porphyrins. The introduction of polymers resulted in a bathochromic shift of the fluorescence bands for all porphyrins, which accounted for the formation of complexes of porphyrin sensitizers with the polymers.

Synthesis of boron-containing derivatives of pyropheophorbide a and investigation of their photophysical and biological properties

Proceeding from pyropheophorbide a and 9-hydroxymethyl-m-carborane, 1-hydroxymethyl-o-carborane, and 3-amino-o-carborane new carboranylchlorins were prepared, and their photophysical and biological properties were investigated.

Synthesis of 5,10,15,20-tetra[3-(o- andm-carboranyl)butyl]porphyrins containing the C−B σ-bond

Abstract5,10,15,20-Tetra[3-(o- andm-carboranyl)butyl]porphyrins containing carborane groups bonded to alkyl substituents of the porphyrin cycle by the C−B σ-bond were obtained by condensation of 4-(o- andm-carboran-9-yl)pentanals with pyrrole.

Synthesis and antitumor properties of carborane conjugates of 5-(4-aminophenyl)-10,15,20-triphenylporphyrin

91 Porphyrins and their derivatives represent an impor tant class of macroheterocycles with unique properties. The practical use of these compounds embraces impor tant fields such as photosynthesis, non linear optics, catalysis, and nanomaterials [1–7]. Porphyrins and other tetrapyrrole macrocycles are intensively used for the photodynamic therapy (PDT) of cancer and other diseases. This efficient therapy is based on the ability of porphyrins to be selectively accumulated in the tumor cells and generate active oxygen species (О2, НO –, HO . , and O . ) upon excitation with monochromatic light, which results in the tumor decay.

Effect of the nature of polymer matrix on the process of cholesterol photooxidation in the presence of immobilized tetraphenylporphyrins

It was shown that carrying out the reaction of cholesterol photosensitized oxidation in the presence of porphyrins immobilized on the hydrolyzed copolymer of tetrafluorethylene and H+ form of perfluoro-3,6-dioxo-5-methyl-6-sulfonylfluorideoctene-1 leads to the formation of not previously described new products: 6β-phormyl-B-norcholestan-3β,5β-diol, 6β-chlorocholestan-3β,5α-diol, cholestan-3β,5α,6β-triol, and 5α-chlorocholestan-3β,6β-diol.

Synthesis of carborane derivatives of 2- (2-carboxyvinyl)-25,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphine

New carboranyl-containing porphyrins were synthesized from 2-(2-carboxyvinyl)-5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphine and 9-hydroxymethyl-m-carborane, 1-hydroxymethyl-o-carborane, and 3-amino-o-carborane. Physical properties of the products were studied.

Synthesis and catalytic properties of manganese complexes of substituted tetraphenylporphyrins in the stereoselective hydroxylation of cholesterol

Manganese(III) complexes of 5-(p-aminophenyl)-10,15,20-triphenylporphyrin, 2-(2-carboxyvinyl)-5, 10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin, and their derivatives containing electron-donor and electron-acceptor substituents have been synthesized. Manganese(III) porphyrinates (PMn) are catalytically active in the stereoselective hydroxylation of cholesterol to form 3β,5α-cholestanediol. The influence of substitutents in the porphyrin ring on the ability of PMn to associate in solution, the hydroxylation rate constants, and the turnover number of the catalyst are discussed.