The influence of central metal in phthalocyanine for photodynamic therapy of glioblastoma

Abstract

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive and fatal brain tumor that tends to occur in older adults and has several subtypes. The fact that the mechanisms of initiation and progression of glioblastoma are not yet known is an obstacle to the treatment of the disease. For this reason, studies have been carried out in recent years to develop new therapeutic approaches. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a procedure that has been approved and is considered safe in most clinical trials. With the help of a photosensitizer (PS), tumor growth regression is promoted, aiming to prolong the survival of patients with glioma progression. It is extremely important to conduct studies focused on the development, application, and biodistribution of possible candidates for these photosensitizing drugs. Phthalocyanines (Pcs) are good photosensitizers for this purpose. Here, we describe an approach to the application of photodynamic therapy with metal-phthalocyanines [zinc-phthalocyanine (ZnPc) and cobalt-phthalocyanine (CoPc)] and their carboxylic acid derivatives in U87-MG cell lines. For the phototoxicity study, percent viability values were calculated using the MTT test. The results showed that cell death was effectively induced in U87-MG cells. In our study, the phthalocyanines applied in the in vitro treatment of glioblastoma cell lines with PDT have shown high toxicity and the treatment has been successful. Our findings highlight the potential of ZnPc-COOH and CoPc-COOH with their carboxylic acid derivatives as biological material for biomedical applications in the treatment of glioblastoma cells.