Comparative study of the photophysical properties of low-toxicity photosensitizers based on endogenous porphyrins

Abstract

This paper presents a review of papers associated with the study of in vitro spectral, fluorescence, and photosensitizing properties, as well as the photostability of low-toxicity photosensitizers based on endogenous porphyrins—the disodium salt of 2,4-di(1-methoxyethyl) deuteroporphyrin IX (dimegin) and the tetrapotassium salt of coproporphyrin III—in comparison with chlorin preparations for medical purposes—Photoditazin, Radachlorin, and Fotolon—when photosensitizer solutions are irradiated in the visible range. The influence of transport additives and proteins on the properties mentioned above is discussed and studied. The results of the study are evidence that it is promising to use drugs based on endogenous porphyrins as effective agents for photodynamic therapy and fluorescence diagnosis, where, along with the photophysical properties of the photosensitizer, a key role is played by photostability, low toxicity, and accumulation selectivity in the pathological foci of the organism, and this is directly associated with the chemical structure of the drug. The results of the latest work carried out at S. I. Vavilov State Optical Institute on this specialization are treated separately.