International Journal of Molecular Sciences

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Dr. Andrea Amaroli

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1. Department of Surgical and Diagnostic Sciences, University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy
2. Department of Orthopedic Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), 119991 Moscow, Russia
Interests: cell biology; photobiomodulation; tissue regeneration; bioelectromagnetism; protistology
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the last 30 years, photodynamic therapy has deservedly achieved a fundamental role of recognition as a medical therapy, above all for its cytotoxic effect, thus allowing professionals to exploit a minimally invasive method capable of being very effective in various fields of medicine.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a method of treating tumours, in particular cancer, the essence of which is the electoral impact on biological tissues as a result of photochemical reactions. Light energy is the catalyst of these reactions.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) was the first drug–device combination approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) almost two decades ago, but even so, remains underutilized clinically.

PDT consists of three essential components: a photosensitizer, light, and oxygen. It is obvious that no one of these is individually toxic, but together, they initiate a photochemical reaction that culminates in the generation of a highly reactive product termed singlet oxygen and many free radicals.

Even aPDT (antimicrobial photodynamic therapy) is increasingly considered in cases of treatment of acute or chronic infections thanks to its great ability to create antimicrobial oxidative stress and consequently significantly lower the massive consumption of antibiotic molecules that cause well-known resistance by microorganisms, making treatments for this type of pathology more and more difficult.

However, both therapies are not as widely recognized as they deserve. The hope is that new research, the new combination of photosensitizers and light, and discoveries will make the knowledge of the benefits obtainable from this therapy and can also have these approaches taken into serious consideration by more professionals.

To support this Special Issue, reviews, original articles, and commentaries providing innovative interpretation and results in the field of photodynamic therapy are welcome. Authors are invited to submit manuscripts exploring aspects that point out original molecular pathways and reliable therapies. Novel approaches and state-of-the-art molecules are highly appreciated. Our Special Issue would aim to prove the molecular interactions and the contribution of PDT in therapeutic and diagnostic tools, highlighting their diverse potential and fully developing them for the future.

Dr. Andrea Amaroli
Guest Editor

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Keywords

photodynamic therapy (PDT)
photochemical reactions
photosensitizer
light
oxygen
therapeutic and diagnostic tools

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 4266 KiB

Open AccessArticle

N-Heterocyclic Carbenes and Their Metal Complexes Based on Histidine and Histamine Derivatives of Bacteriopurpurinimide for the Combined Chemo- and Photodynamic Therapy of Cancer

by Sergey Tikhonov, Natalia Morozova, Anna Plutinskaya, Ekaterina Plotnikova, Andrey Pankratov, Olga Abramova, Ekaterina Diachkova, Yuriy Vasil’ev and Mikhail Grin

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(24), 15776; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232415776 - 12 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1806

Abstract

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is currently regarded as a promising method for the treatment of oncological diseases. However, it involves a number of limitations related to the specific features of the method and the specific characteristics of photosensitizer molecules, including tumor hypoxia, small depth of light penetration into the tumor tissue, and low accumulation sensitivity. These drawbacks can be overcome by combining PDT with other treatment methods, for example, chemotherapy. In this work, we were the first to obtain agents that contain bacteriopurpurinimide as a photodynamic subunit and complexes of gold(I) that implement the chemotherapy effect. To bind the latter agents, N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) based on histidine and histamine were obtained. We considered alternative techniques for synthesizing the target conjugates and selected an optimal one that enabled the production of preparative amounts for biological assays. In vitro studies showed that all the compounds obtained exhibited high photoinduced activity. The C-donor Au(I) complexes exhibited the maximum specific activity at longer incubation times compared to the other derivatives, both under exposure to light and without irradiation. In in vivo studies, the presence of histamine in the NHC-derivative of dipropoxy-BPI (7b) had no significant effect on its antitumor action, whereas the Au(I) metal complex of histamine NHC-derivative with BPI (8b) resulted in enhanced antitumor activity and in an increased number of remissions after photodynamic treatment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Photodynamic Therapy: Outlook and Future Direction)

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Review

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18 pages, 912 KiB

Open AccessReview

An Update on Photodynamic Therapy of Psoriasis—Current Strategies and Nanotechnology as a Future Perspective

by Sebastian Makuch, Mateusz Dróżdż, Alicja Makarec, Piotr Ziółkowski and Marta Woźniak

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(17), 9845; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23179845 - 30 Aug 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4136

Abstract

Psoriasis (PS) is an immune-mediated skin disease with substantial negative effects on patient quality of life. Despite significant progress in the development of novel treatment options over the past few decades, a high percentage of patients with psoriasis remain undertreated and require new medications with superior long-term efficacy and safety. One of the most promising treatment options against psoriatic lesions is a form of phototherapy known as photodynamic therapy (PDT), which involves either the systemic or local application of a cell-targeting photosensitizing compound, followed by selective illumination of the lesion with visible light. However, the effectiveness of clinically incorporated photosensitizers in psoriasis treatment is limited, and adverse effects such as pain or burning sensations are frequently reported. In this study, we performed a literature review and attempted to provide a pooled estimate of the efficacy and short-term safety of targeted PDT in the treatment of psoriasis. Despite some encouraging results, PDT remains clinically underutilized. This highlights the need for further studies that will aim to evaluate the efficacy of a wider spectrum of photosensitizers and the potential of nanotechnology in psoriasis treatment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Photodynamic Therapy: Outlook and Future Direction)

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