Extraordinary Control of Photosensitized Singlet Oxygen Generation by Acyclic Cucurbituril-like Containers.

Supramolecular control of singlet oxygen generation is incredibly valuable for several fields with broad applications and thus still challenging. However, macrocyclic inclusion complexes inherently restrict the interaction of photosensitizers with surrounding oxygen in the media. To circumvent this issue, we turned our attention in this work to acyclic cucurbituril-like containers and uncover their properties as supramolecular hosts for photosensitizers with extraordinary control of their photophysics, including singlet oxygen generation.

Direct Oral FXa Inhibitors Binding to Human Serum Albumin: Spectroscopic, Calorimetric, and Computational Studies.

Direct FXa inhibitors are an important class of bioactive molecules (rivaroxaban, apixaban, edoxaban, and betrixaban) applied for thromboprophylaxis in diverse cardiovascular pathologies. The interaction of active compounds with human serum albumin (HSA), the most abundant protein in blood plasma, is a key research area and provides crucial information about drugs' pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic properties. This research focuses on the study of the interactions between HSA and four commercially available direct oral FXa inhibitors, applying methodologies including steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), and molecular dynamics.

Recent Photosensitizer Developments, Delivery Strategies and Combination-based Approaches for Photodynamic Therapy.

Photodynamic therapy of cancer (PDT) is a therapeutic technique, minimally invasive, which is currently used to treat cancerous lesions and tumors that have been in the spotlight for its potential over the recent decades. Nonetheless, PDT still needs further development to become a first-option treatment for patients. This review compiles recent progress in several aspects of the current research in the constantly growing area of PDT to overcome the main challenges as an attempt to serve as a guide and reference for newcomers into this research area.

Supramolecular co-encapsulation of a photosensitizer and chemotherapeutic drug in cucurbit[8]uril for potential chemophototherapy.

Supramolecular strategies as well as combinatorial approaches have been proposed to improve cancer therapeutics. In this work, we investigated the encapsulation of the photosensitizer acridine orange (AO) and the chemotherapeutic drug oxaliplatin (OxPt) in cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]), and tested their effect both separate and combined on tumoral cells cultivated in vitro. Binding constants and enthalpies of reaction for the AO@CB[8], (AO)@CB[8] and OxPt@CB[8] complexes were determined by isothermal titration calorimetry.

Mechanism of Visible-Light Photooxidative Demethylation of Toluidine Blue O.

Experiments and theoretical calculations by density functional theory (DFT) have been carried out to examine a self-sensitized type I photooxidation of toluidine blue O (TBO). This study attempts to build a connection between visible-light photolysis and demethylation processes of methylamine compounds, such as TBO. We show that controlled photoinduced mono- and double-demethylation of TBO can be achieved.