Interaction of amphiphilic chlorin-based photosensitizers with 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine monolayers

Julien Gravier (1) , Beata Korchowieca (1, 2) , Raphaël Schneider (3) , Ewa Rogalska (1)

1 SRSMC - Structure et Réactivité des Systèmes Moléculaires Complexes
2 Department of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry
3 DCPR - Département de Chimie Physique des Réactions

The drawbacks of the presently used photosensitizers include their relatively low selectivity toward cancercells, and long-lasting accumulation in healthy tissues. Our recent results indicate that conjugating a photosensitizer with folic acid both enhances the active uptake by cells, and decreases the accumulation in healthy tissue. Here, the interaction between 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) monolayers used as model membranes, and three different photosensitizerswere studied; the derivatives were the non-conjugated meta-tetrahydroxyphenylchlorin (m-THPC, CHL1) and tris(3-hydroxyphenyl)-4-carboxyphenylchlorin (CHL2), as well as a folic acid-conjugated m-THPC-like molecule (CHL3). The results obtained indicate that the folate moiety present in the conjugated derivative CHL3 is involved in the interaction with the phospholipid polar heads. This interaction may be responsible for a better miscibility of CHL3 with the DPPC films compared to CHL1 and CHL2, while elimination of CHL3 from the tissue may be due rather to specific, biological processes and not to its polarity.

Mots clés: Surface pressure; Electrical surface potential; BAM; PM-IRRAS; Model biological membranes; Folic acid

Domaines: Chimie-Physique [physics.chem-ph]

Julien Gravier, Beata Korchowieca, Raphaël Schneider, Ewa Rogalska. Interaction of amphiphilic chlorin-based photosensitizers with 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine monolayers. Chemistry and Physics of Lipids, 2009, 158, pp.102-109. ⟨10.1016/j.chemphyslip.2009.01.004⟩. ⟨hal-00371629⟩