Photodynamic Activity of Vitamin-Chlorin Conjugates at Nanomolar Concentrations against Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells

Abstract

The synthesis and characterization of chlorin-based photosensitizers for potential applications in photodynamic therapy (PDT) of triple-negative breast cancer are described. The photodynamic efficacies of the synthesized chlorin-bexarotene (CBX) and its zinc and indium complexes were compared to those of the previously synthesized chlorin-biotin conjugates in triple-negative and triple-positive breast cancer cell lines. The chlorin-bexarotene (CBX) and chlorin-biotin (CBTN) aim to target the nuclear receptors and vitamin receptors, respectively, upregulated in malignant cancer cells. Cell survival assay in vitro indicated that the biotinylated chlorin is photoactive at the nanomolar concentration range against triple-negative breast cancer cell line, but has some dark toxicity at higher concentrations, while chlorin-bexarotene is photoactive at the nanomolar range at higher light dose with no observable dark toxicity at the highest concentration used. With the proper adjustment of concentration and light ...