Tritolylporphyrin dimer as a new potent hydrophobic sensitizer for photodynamic therapy of melanoma.

We report the synthesis, photochemical and photophysical properties and preliminary studies on biological effect of a new tritolylporphyrin dimer (T-D). Absorption and emission properties of T-D suggest its possible use in photodynamic therapy. T-D is capable of singlet oxygen production with 0.8 quantum yield. It also has a high photostability. The photodynamic properties of the dimer were examined following the growth of SKMEL 188 (human melanoma) cells irradiated with red light (cut off <630 nm). The surviving fraction of the cells decreased about 3-fold (vs. non-irradiated cells) for an 81 J/cm2 dose. Our results suggest that tritolylporphyrine dimer T-D may be an interesting hydrophobic sensitizer for photodynamic therapy.