JOANNA NOWAKOWSKA

WSPÓŁCZESNE ZASTOSOWANIE PORFIRYN W ANALIZIE FARMACEUTYCZNEJ ORAZ W MEDYCYNIE
2008-08-16

Modern application of porphyrins in pharmaceutical analysis and medicine. Porphyrins are naturally occurring macrocyclic compounds, which play a very important biochemical role in metabolism in living organisms. They are an active sites in many enzymes (cytochromes, catalysis, peroxydase etc.) and well-known complexes of porphyrins with iron are an oxygenic carriers of proteins (haemoglobin, myoglobin). Consequently, they have a widespread application as models for investigation of oxygen transport. Qualitative and quantitative determination of porphyrins is, therefore, important in the biological and biomedical sciences, e.g. for diagnosis of metabolic anomalies or for estimation of the impact of the environment. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising anticancer treatment based on photoactivation of specific photosensitizer molecules selectively accumulated in a tumor and following generation of singlet oxygen and other cytotoxic free radical products which destroy malignant tissue. Different compounds, porphyrins, chlorins, phthalocyanines, etc., are examined with the aim to find new optimal photosensitizer. Besides the treatment of precancerous lesions and malignant tumours in superficial sites, new experimental indications, such as psoriasis, are being investigated. The development of new photosensitizing agents for topical application and appropriate light sources has led to increasing interest in this promising treatment modality among dermatologists. This historical review deals with the scientific investigations of photodynamic therapy and diagnosis that started with the experiments of Oscar Raab at the end of the nineteenth century.