Silicon phthalocyanine 4

Novel pH-sensitive polymeric photosensitizer carriers from the phthalocyanine (Pc) group were investigated as potential photodynamic therapy drugs for the treatment of breast cancer. Their high antiproliferative activity was confirmed by photocytotoxicity studies, which indicated their high efficacy and specificity toward the SK-BR-3 cell line. Importantly, the Pcs encapsulated in the polymeric nanoparticle (NP) carrier exhibited a much better penetration into the acidic environment of tumor cells than their free form. The investigated Pc4-NPs and TT1-NPs exhibited a high selectivity to healthy fibroblasts as well as non-toxicity without irradiation. This paper describes the detailed mechanism of action of the evaluated compounds by measuring reactive oxygen species (ROS), including singlet oxygen; imaging cellular localization; and analyzing key signaling pathway proteins. An additional advantage of the evaluated compounds is their ability to inhibit the Akt protein expression, including its phosphorylation, which the Western blot test confirmed. This is particularly important because breast cancers often overexpress the HER-2 receptor-related signaling proteins. Moreover, an analysis of proteins such as GLUT-1, HO-1, phospho-p42/44, and BID revealed the significant involvement of ROS in disrupting cellular homeostasis, thereby leading to the induction of oxidative stress and resulting in apoptotic cell death.

Multi‐phenyl and multi‐thiophene rod‐like molecules are typically used for weak epitaxial growth (WEG) of highly ordered organic semiconductor films enabling controllable microstructure properties and improved device performance. However, very few templating molecules have been reported, making it challenging to establish structure‐property relationships. As semiconductors are integrated into organic thin film transistors (OTFTs), the impact of templating layers on semiconductor microstructure and device performance must be established. Herein, four aromatic molecules with similar structure to para‐sexiphenyl (p‐6P) are synthesized and incorporated as the template layer in bis (pentafluoro phenoxy) silicon phthalocyanine (F10‐SiPc) OTFTs. The use of fluorinated p‐6P (p‐6PF) yields devices with the highest electron field‐effect mobility of 0.14 cm2 V−1 s−1 while a partially fluorinated p‐6P (p‐6PF4) results in improved threshold voltage. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) demonstrates varying F10‐SiPc crystallinity with choice of templating layer with the most crystalline films resulting from the use of p‐6PF. By grazing incidence wide angle X‐ray scattering (GIWAXS) and polarized Raman microscopy, all templating layers yield films with F10‐SiPc molecules predominantly aligned face‐on to the substrate. However, rod‐like p‐6P derivatives increased the face‐on orientation of F10‐SiPc. This study highlights the importance of template layer selection and deposition optimization in WEG‐based OTFTs.