Combined chemotherapeutic and photodynamic treatment on human bladder cells by hematoporphyrin–platinum(II) conjugates

Four porphyrin–platinum complexes, conceived as a new approach in cancer therapy by combining the cytostatic activity of cisplatin or oxaliplatin and the photodynamic effect of hematoporphyrin in the same molecule, were studied in detail with respect to solubility and stability in cell culture medium as well as in terms of cytotoxicity and phototoxicity against J82 bladder cancer cells and UROtsa, normal urothelial cells. This study demonstrated that the most active and promising compound among the porphyrin–platinum conjugates investigated was the water-soluble porphyrin–platinum complex 4 (diammine{7,12-bis[1-(polyethyleneglycol-750-monomethylether-1-yl)ethyl]-3,8,13,17-tetramethylporphyrin-2,18-dipropionato}platinum(II)) which exhibited a synergistic antiproliferative effect compared to cisplatin and hematoporphyrin alone or a combination of the drugs.