Tyrosine conjugated zinc(II) phthalocyanine for photodynamic therapy: Synthesis and photophysicochemical properties

Biologically active photosensitizers with long absorption wavelength are among the new generation drugs for potential application in photodynamic therapy (PDT). This study presents a new phthalocyanine photosensitizer functionalized with amino acid for application in PDT. This photosensitizer, tetra-(4-tyrosylamido) phenoxy substituted zinc(II) phthalocyanine (ZnPcTyr), was synthesized and chemically characterized. The properties of electronic absorption, fluorescence, photostability, and singlet oxygen generation were studied. The obtained photophysicochemical characteristics suggested that this newly synthesized tyrosine conjugated zinc(II) phthalocyanine has promising potential as photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.