Abstract

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising technique for the treatment of various diseases. In this sense, the singlet oxygen quantum yield (& phi;( increment )) is a physical-chemical property that allows to stablish the applicability of a potential photosensitizers (PS) as a drug for PDT. In the herein report, the & phi;( increment ) of three photosensitizers was determined: metal-free tetrahydroxyphenyl porphyrin (THPP), THPP-Zn and the THPP-V metal complexes. Their biological application was also evaluated. Therefore, the in vitro study was carried out to assess their biological activity against Escherichia coli. The metal-porphyrin complexes exhibited highest activities against the bacterial strain Escherichia coli. at the highest concentration (175 & mu;g/mL) and show better activity than the free base ligand (salts and blank solution). Results indicated a relation between & phi;( increment ) and the inhibitory activity against Escherichia coli, thus, whereas higher is the & phi;( increment ), higher is the inhibitory activity. The values of the & phi;( increment ) and the inhibitory activity follows the tendency THPP-Zn > THPP > THPP-V. Furthermore, quantum chemical calculations allowed to gain deep insight into the electronic and optical properties of THPP-Zn macrocycle, which let to verify the most probable energy transfer pathway involved in the singlet oxygen generation.