Photoinactivation of Candida albicans mediated by a tetracationic phthalocyanine

M. ALBANA DI PALMA; A. LAURA OCHOA; M. ELISA MILANESIO; M. GABRIELA ALVAREZ; EDGARDO N. DURANTINI

Congreso; 16th International Congress on Photobiology; 2014

The incidence of superficial and deep-seated fungal infections has increased markedly over the last 20 years. Candida albicansrepresents a critical problem to health and is one of the main causes of fungal diseases worldwide. Further increasing problem is the emergence of resistant yeast strains due to extensive and prolonged use of antifungal agents. Consequently, the search for new effective antifungal treatments is awfully necessary. Photodynamic inactivation (PDI) of microorganisms has been proposed a new alternative to controlling C. albicans infections.In this work, the photodynamic action induced by zinc(II) 2,9,16,23-tetrakis[4-(N-methylpyridyloxy)]phthalocyanine (ZnPPc4+) was investigated in AOT reverse micelles and C. albicans.