Desired properties of new phthalocyanines for photodynamic therapy

Abstract

The manuscript focuses on the properties of phthalocyanines (Pcs) that are required for them to be employed as photosensitizers in applications such as photodynamic therapy (PDT). High triplet-state quantum yields and lifetimes as well as high singlet-oxygen quantum yields are required for a good photosensitizer. In addition, absorption of the photosensitizer in the red region of the electromagnetic spectrum is also required, and this can be achieved by ring expansion, substitution with electron-donating ligands, and change of the central metal among others. Quantum dots (QDs) are efficient accumulators of light energy, and they can transfer this energy to molecules that possess a very efficient ability to generate singlet oxygen through a process called Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET). Thus, there is a decrease in the fluorescence quantum yield of the QDs when in the vicinity of Pcs. Triplet quantum yields of the Pcs increase in the presence of QDs.