Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is becoming an increasingly popular option in the treatment of solid cancer tumors of the head and neck, brain, lung, breast, prostate, pancreas, skin, and intraperitoneal cavity. There are many advantages to using PDT in the treatment of cancer tumors. In addition to being less invasive than the standard techniques, when activated, the photosensitizer molecules are highly effective in producing localized singlet oxygen, a very effective cytotoxic agent. PDT also allows for treatment of tumors that are inaccessible for surgical removal. However, there are three main limitations of PDT including limited selectivity of the photosensitizer, limited solubility, and extended photoactivity due to limited clearance. To address these problems, we have designed a series of carbohydrate bacteriochlorin conjugates (CBCs) for PDT. Our CBCs consist of a central photoactive macrocycle, a bacteriochlorin, which is attached to a poly-N-acetyllactosamine derivatives, an oligosaccharides which imparts hydrophilicity and solubility as well as specificity. Our initial CBCs were designed to selectively target members of the galectin family whose overexpression has been implicated in tumor progression and metastasis.

Synthesis of carbohydrate bacteriochlorin conjugates (CBCs) for targeted photodynamic therapy

247th National Meeting (2014)

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