Functionalization of chlorin e6 trimethylester towards potential amphiphilic photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy

Abstract

Chlorins (dihydroporphyrins) are considered, due to their ideal photophysical properties, as attractive photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy (PDT) of cancer and other therapeutic and diagnostic applications. Chlorophyll [Formula: see text], as a naturally occurring chlorin, forms an almost unlimited renewable resource for preparation of potential biologically active chlorin photosensitizers and fluorescence markers. To achieve amphiphilic photosensitizers which might be selectively enriched in tumor cells, we addressed linkage of per se lipophilic chlorophyll derivatives with carbohydrate based hydrophilic aminopolyols.