TABLE 1.
Summary of properties of selected examples of supramolecular photosensitizers (SPS) used in antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT).
| Photosensitizer (PS) | Supramolecular template | Type of interaction | Microorganism/antimicrobial efficiency | References |
| Polymer-based materials | ||||
| Cationic Zinc phthalocyanines | Cellulose nanocrystals | Electrostatic interactions | S. aureus: 6-3 logs E. coli: 8-6 logs C. albicans: 6.5 logs | Anaya-Plaza et al. (2017) |
| Ru(II) polypyridyl complexes | Porous silicone matrix | Hydrophobic interactions | E. faecalis Total disinfection | Manjón et al. (2014) |
| meso-tetraaryl porphyrins | Chitosan film | Electrostatic and H-bonding | Listeria innocua ≈ 2.5 logs Irradiation during attachment: 2-3 logs Irradiation after attachment: 1.5-2 logs | Castro et al. (2017) |
| Self-assembled nanocarriers | ||||
| Chlorophyll derivatives | Zwitterionic DPPC liposomes Non-ionic polymeric micelles | PS encapsulation | S. aureus ≈ 3 logs | Gerola et al. (2019) |
| S. aureus ≈ 2 logs | ||||
| Aluminum Chloride Phthalocyanine | Tri-block copolymers (polymeric micelles) | PS encapsulation | S. aureus ≈ 3 logs E. coli: no effect C. albicans: <1 logs | Vilsinski et al. (2015) |
| Chlorin e6 | Poly(HDDA-co-DBPA – mPEG) (polymeric nanoparticles) | PS encapsulation | S. aureus and E. coli Complete inhibition in vivo: Improved photodynamic therapeutic efficacy of NPs compared to free Ce6 | Liu Y. et al. (2015) |
| Macrocycles-based host-guest complexes | ||||
| Cationic porphyrin derivative | Block polymer Backbone + cucurbit[8]uril | Host-guest complexation Metal coordination | S. aureus ≈ 100% | Chen et al. (2019) |
| Methylene blue | β-cyclodextrin-modified hyaluronic acid | Host-guest complexation | MRSA ≈ 2 logs | Yao et al. (2019) |
| Carbon-based materials | ||||
| Indocyanine green | Nano-Graphene Oxide | π-π stacking hydrophobic interactions | E. faecalis 2.81 logs 99.4% | Akbari et al. (2017) |
| Metallic nanoparticles | ||||
| Toluidine blue O | Silver nanoparticles | Electrostatic interactions | S. mutans 4 logs 99% | Misba et al. (2016) |
| Methylene blue | Gold nanoparticles | Electrostatic interactions | MRSA >5 logs reduction of MRSA 4-days-old biofilm | Darabpour et al. (2017) |
DBPA: 3-(Diethylamino)-1-propylamine; DPPC: dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine; C. albicans: Candida albicans; E. coli: Escherichia coli; E. faecalis: Enterococcus faecalis; HDDA: 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate; L. innocua: Listeria innocua; MRSA: methicillin-resistant S. aureus; mPEG: methyl poly(ethylene glycol); S. aureus: Staphylococcus aureus.