title: Photodynamic therapy of melanoma using new, synthetic porphyrins and phthalocyanines as photosensitisers - a comparative study.
abstract: Melanoma, a cancer that arises from melanocytes, is one of the most unresponsive cancers to known therapies and has a tendency to produce early metastases. Several studies showed encouraging results of the efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT) in melanoma, in different experimental settings in vitro and in vivo, as well as several clinical reports.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Our study focuses on testing the antimelanoma efficacy of several new, synthetic photosensitisers (PS), from two different chemical classes, respectively four porphyrins and six phthalocyanines.
  
  
  METHODS
  These PS were tested in terms of cell toxicity and phototoxicity against a radial growth phase melanoma cell line (WM35), in vitro. Cells were exposed to different concentrations of the PS for 24h, washed, then irradiatied with red light (630 nm) 75 mJ/cm(2) for the porphyrins and 1 J/cm(2) for the phthalocyanines. Viability was measured using the MTS method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two of the synthetic porphyrins, TTP and THNP, were active photosensitizers against WM35 melanoma in vitro. Phthalocyanines were effective in producing a dose dependent PDT-induced decrease in viability in a dose-dependent manner. The most efficient was Indium (III) Phthalocyanine chloride, a metal substituted phthalocyanine.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The most efficient photosensitizers for PDT in melanoma cells were the phthalocyanines in terms of tumor cell photokilling and decreased dark toxicity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Ioana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Baldea
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Research & Development in Chemistry and Petrochemistry-ICECHIM, Nanomedicine Research Group, Bucharest, Romania ; Materials Engineering Department, Valahia University, Targoviste, Romania.
authors.forename: Rodica-Mariana
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Ion
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Diana Elena
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Olteanu
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Iuliana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nenu
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tudor
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Adriana Gabriela
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Filip
keywords: cell photokilling; melanoma; photodyamic therapy; phthalocyanines; porphyrins