Improving the Photodynamic Activity of Water-Soluble Porphyrin-Polysaccharide Complexes by Folic Acid Modification
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Published on: September 17, 2013
Kotaro Nishimura1, Nanami Kono1, Ayano Oshige1
1Applied Chemistry Program, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Hiroshima University, 1-4-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, 739-8527, Hiroshima, Japan.
Abstract:
Studies have shown that folate receptors are highly expressed in various cancer cells. Here, we synthesized folic acid-conjugated pullulan (FAPL) as a solubilizing agent to improve the photodynamic activity of porphyrin derivative-polysaccharide complexes. The porphyrin derivative-FAPL complex exhibited long-term stability in an aqueous solution, attributed to the folic acid modification. Furthermore, in vitro and in vivo experiments highlighted the enhanced photodynamic activity of the porphyrin derivative-FAPL complex toward 4T1 breast-cancer cells, compared with the activities of the porphyrin derivative-pullulan complex and Photofrin. This enhanced activity is attributed to the improvement of intracellular uptake by the folate receptor.
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