Target Prediction of 5,10,15,20-Tetrakis(4′-Sulfonatophenyl)-Porphyrin Using Molecular Docking

Abstract

Photodynamic therapy has the potential to be a new and effective cancer treatment. Even if in vitro and in vivo research show promise, the molecular mechanism remains unclear. In this study, molecular docking simulations predict the binding affinity of the 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4′-sulfonatophenyl)-porphyrin tetraammonium photosensitizer on several potential targets in photodynamic treatment. Our results indicate that this photosensitizer binds to several receptor targets, including B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL-2) and other related proteins BCL-xL, MCL-1, or A1. The binding affinity of the porphyrin derivative with human serum albumin was determined using UV–vis absorption spectroscopy and predicted using molecular docking. We conclude that the studied porphyrin photosensitizer binds to human serum albumin and may inhibit the cancer cell line through its interactions with HIS and MET AA residues from BCL-2, MCL-1, and β-catenin receptors or through its low estimated free energy of binding when interacting with A1 and BCL-B receptors.