Fullerenes as Photosensitizers in Photodynamic Therapy

Fullerenes are a class of closed-cage nanomaterials made exclusively from carbon atoms. A great deal of attention has been focused on developing medical uses of these unique molecules especially when they are derivatized with functional groups to make them soluble and therefore able to interact with biological systems. Due to their extended π-conjugation they absorb visible light, have a high triplet yield and can generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon illumination, suggesting a possible role of fullerenes in photodynamic therapy (PDT). Depending on the functional groups introduced into the molecule, fullerenes can effectively photoinactivate either or both pathogenic microbial cells and malignant cancer cells. The mechanism appears to involve Superoxide anion as well as singlet oxygen, and under the right conditions fullerenes may have advantages over clinically applied photosensitizers (PSs) for mediating photodynamic therapy of certain diseases.