Synthesis, characterisation and in vitro investigation of photodynamic activity of 5-(4-octadecanamidophenyl)-10,15,20-tris(N-methylpyridinium-3-yl)porphyrin trichloride on HeLa cells using low light fluence rate.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment that aims to kill cancer cells by reactive oxygen species, mainly singlet oxygen, produced through light activation of a photosensitiser (PS). Amongst photosensitisers that attracted the most attention in the last decade are cationic and amphiphilic molecules based on porphyrin, chlorin and phthalocyanine structures. Our aim was to join this search for more optimal balance of the lipophilic and hydrophilic moieties in a PS.

Design and production of bicolour reflecting coatings with Au metal island films.

Optical properties of metal island films (MIFs) can be combined with interference of dielectric coatings. A set of multilayer designs containing metal clusters reflecting different colours from front and back side of the coating was obtained by numerical optimization. The chosen designs presenting the range of feasible colours were deposited by electron beam evaporation.

Comparison of two techniques for reliable characterization of thin metal-dielectric films.

In the present study we determine the optical parameters of thin metal-dielectric films using two different characterization techniques based on nonparametric and multiple oscillator models. We consider four series of thin metal-dielectric films produced under various deposition conditions with different optical properties. We compare characterization results obtained by nonparametric and multiple oscillator techniques and demonstrate that the results are consistent.

Use of gold island films in design of reflectors with high luminosity.

We describe the optical properties of gold island films embedded between SiO2 and/or TiO2 layers. Plasmonic properties of gold films have been characterized using spectrometry and variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry for various combinations of the embedding media. The obtained refractive indices of embedded gold island films have been used in the design of several types of multilayer reflectors.