Polymers as enhancers of photodynamic activity of chlorin photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy

The impact of water-soluble and amphiphilic polymers with different structures, namely carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), was studied on the photoactivity of chlorin photosensitizers (PSs) in photodynamic therapy (PDT). It was shown that such polymers can cause a considerable increase in the PS activity, both in the process of singlet oxygen photogeneration in cell experiments, and in the model reaction of a substrate photooxidation in water. Amongst the studied polymers, CMC and PVP appeared to have the most significant influence on the photoactivity of PSs. The observed effect of the polymers on the photosensitizing activity of PSs can be attributed to the presence of chlorin-polymer interactions resulting in the porphyrin disaggregation in aqueous phase. The effect of the polymers on the photocytotoxicity of PSs is attributed to the absence of interactions between chlorin and polypeptide or lipoproteins which results in a decrease of the photoactivity of chlorins in cell culture. The PS/polymer systems appear to be a new effective dosage form of PDT drugs.