Conjugation of 2-(1'-hexyloxyethyl)-2-devinylpyropheophorbide-a (HPPH) to carbohydrates changes its subcellular distribution and enhances photodynamic activity in vivo.

The carbohydrate moieties on conjugating with 3-(1'-hexyloxyethyl)-3-devinyl pyropeophorbide-a (HPPH) altered the uptake and intracellular localization from mitochondria to lysosomes. In vitro, HPPH-Gal 9 PDT showed increased PDT efficacy over HPPH-PDT as detectable by the oxidative cross-linking of nonphosphorylated STAT3 and cell killing in ABCG2-expressing RIF cells but not in ABCG2-negative Colon26 cells. This increased efficacy in RIF cells could at least partially be attributed to increased cellular accumulation of 9, suggesting a role of the ABCG2 transporter for which HPPH is a substrate. While such differences in the accumulation in HPPH derivatives by tumor tissue in vivo were not detectable, 9 still showed an elevated light dose-dependent activity compared to HPPH in mice bearing RIF as well as Colon26 tumors. Further optimization of the carbohydrate conjugates at variable treatment parameters in vivo is currently underway.