A self-assembled nanostructured material with photosensitising properties†
Abstract
Using a combination of molecular modelling and spectroscopic experiments, the naturally-occurring pharmacologically active hypericin compound is shown to form a stable 1 : 1 complex with apomyoglobin that preserves its fluorescence and singlet oxygen photosensitising properties. The binding equilibrium constant has been determined as Ka = (2.4 ± 0.5) × 105 M−1, equivalent to a dissociation constant Kd = 4.2 ± 0.8 μM. The kinetic details of singlet oxygen production have been characterised and indicate that the protein scaffold protects