Fluorescent Imidazopyrimidine Compounds as Biocompatible Organic Photosensitizers that Generate Singlet Oxygen: A Potential Tool for Phototheranostics

Photodynamic therapy has been used to treat a variety of diseases, however, there is continuing search for new biocompatible photosensitizers. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time that imidazo[1,2‐a]pyrimidine compounds are able to generate singlet oxygen species and can act as photosensitizers...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inChemistry : a European journal Vol. 27; no. 20; pp. 6213 - 6222
Main Authors Maria L S O Lima, Braga, Carolyne B, Becher, Tiago B, Mikel Odriozola‐Gimeno, Miquel Torrent‐Sucarrat, Rivilla, Iván, Cossío, Fernando P, Marsaioli, Anita J, Ornelas, Catia
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Weinheim Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.04.2021
Subjects
Biocompatibility
Chemistry
Cytotoxicity
Fluorescence
Intracellular
Irradiation
Oxygen
Photodynamic therapy
Radiation
Singlet oxygen
Toxicity
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Summary:Photodynamic therapy has been used to treat a variety of diseases, however, there is continuing search for new biocompatible photosensitizers. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time that imidazo[1,2‐a]pyrimidine compounds are able to generate singlet oxygen species and can act as photosensitizers in the intracellular environment. Our results show that this class of compounds absorb and emit in the 400–500 nm region, present low cytotoxicity in the dark, are efficiently uptaken by cells, are fluorescent in intracellular medium, and generate singlet oxygen upon irradiation, killing cancer cells within 2 h at low concentration (2.0 μm). The imidazo[1,2‐a]pyrimidine compounds are a potential new tool for phototheranostics, because they can be simultaneously used for fluorescence imaging and photodynamic therapy.
ISSN:0947-6539
1521-3765
DOI:10.1002/chem.202004957