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Non-invasive In Vivo Fluorescence Optical Imaging of Inflammatory MMP Activity Using an Activatable Fluorescent Imaging Agent
Published on: May 8, 2017
Visible light-activatable multicargo microemulsions with bimodal photobactericidal action and dual colour
Aurore Fraix1, Ovidio Catanzano2, Ivana Di Bari1
1Laboratory of Photochemistry, Department of Drug Science, Viale Andrea Doria 6, 95125, Catania, Italy. ssortino@unict.it.
Abstract:
In this contribution we report the design, preparation, and physico-chemical, photophysical and photochemical characterization of photoactivatable microemulsions (MEs) based on Labrasol®, isopropanol and Lauroglycol® FCC as a surfactant, co-surfactant and oily phase, respectively. The MEs co-incorporate, in their oil phase, two lipophilic guests such as a red emitting singlet oxygen (1O2) photosensitizer (PS) and a tailored green emitting nitric oxide (NO) photodonor (NOPD). These two chromofluorogenic units absorb in different spectral windows of the visible range, and their individual photophysical and photochemical properties are well-conserved when co-entrapped in the microemulsions. These features permit the PS and NOPD to operate either individually or in tandem resulting in (i) red, green or both fluorescence emission, (ii) photogeneration of cytotoxic 1O2, NO or both and (iii) amplified photobactericidal action against Staphylococcus aureus due to the combined effect of these two antibacterial agents.
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