Inhibition of Taq polymerase activity by singlet oxygen generation at photodynamic therapy

The goal of this study was to assess the ability of singlet oxygen generated at PDT to inhibit the activity of the model enzyme - Taq polymerase. Experimentally were determined the laser irradiation dose and the singlet oxygen concentration (over 300 μM) that results to complete inhibition of Taq polymerase activity. The results show that enzymatic proteins have an order of magnitude higher susceptibility than DNA molecules to damage by singlet oxygen.