What are photosensitizing agents?

Photosensitizing agents are drugs that can make the skin more sensitive to UV radiation. Drug-induced phototoxic reactions generally present as unexpected sunburns or dermatitis on sun-exposed areas of the skin.

What makes a good photosensitizer?

A good photosensitizer should absorb photons efficiently (i.e., high absorption coefficient), have a high quantum yield of triplet formation, and the triplet state should be long lived in order to have time to react with neighbouring target molecules. Even dimers of the photosensitizer can be photochemically inactive.

What is Photosensitization explain?

Photosensitization is a reaction to light that is mediated by a light-absorbing molecule, which is not the ultimate target. Photosensitization can involve reactions within living cells or tissues, or they can occur in pure chemical systems.

What are photosensitizers examples?

Examples of second-generation photosensitizers are phthalocyanines, chlorins, and benzoporphyrins (Allison et al., 2004; Bazylińska et al., 2012).

What is photosensitizers in photodynamic therapy?

Abstract. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is based on the use of light-sensitive molecules called photosensitizers. Photoactivation causes the formation of singlet oxygen, which produces peroxidative reactions that can cause cell damage and death.

Can perfume be photosensitizing?

In addition, some fragrances, including essential oils, such as bergamot oil, 6-methyl coumarin or musk ambrette, are known to induce photosensitivity reactions in vivo (3, 4). Acute skin reactions to photosensitizing compounds may be phototoxic or photoallergic.

Is Au a photosensitizer?

BODIPY–Au(I): A Photosensitizer for Singlet Oxygen Generation and Photodynamic Therapy.

Is chlorophyll a photosensitizer?

Chlorophyll has been experimented to function as a photosensitizer in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) as DSSCs mimic the photosynthesis process in green plants. The dye absorbs light, which is transformed into electricity.

What is the role of Photosensitization in the modern medicine?

Photosensitization allows a nonabsorbing acceptor species to be excited in the presence of a light-absorbing donor molecule.

How are photosensitizers used in antimicrobial therapy?

Photosensitizers are molecules that can be activated by light in order to generate ROS that can damage cell structures from microorganisms or from diseased mammalian cells leading to cell death. Reza Fekrazad, Katayoun A.M. Kalhori, in Nanostructures for Antimicrobial Therapy, 2017

What are the photosensitizers used in PDT therapy?

PDT uses photosensitizers (PSs, non-toxic dyes) that are activated by absorption of visible light to initially form the excited singlet state, followed by transition to the long-lived excited triplet state.

Which is the best description of an organic photosensitizer?

Organic photosensitizers are carbon-based molecules which are capable of photosensitizing. The earliest studied photosensitizers were aromatic hydrocarbons which absorbed light in the presence of oxygen to produce reactive oxygen species. These organic photosensitizers are made up of highly conjugated systems which promote electron delocalization.

How is the photosensitizer excited in a type I reaction?

In Type I photosensitized reactions, the photosensitizer is excited by a light source into a triplet state. The excited, triplet state photosensitizer then reacts with a substrate molecule which is not molecular oxygen to both form a product and reform the photosensitizer.