A series of water-soluble cationic chalcogenoviologen-based photosensitizers for photodynamic antimicrobial therapy (PDAT) is reported. The Se-containing derivatives (SeMV2+ ) 5 b and 6 b showed good antimicrobial activities due to the presence of chalcogen atoms and a cationic scaffold. The former efficiently enhanced the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and the latter facilitated the ROS delivery to bacteria, resulting in their death. Interestingly, alkyl-modified photosensitizers showed higher antimicrobial activities than commonly reported photosensitizers with quaternary ammonium (QA) groups. In particular, the SeMV2+ (6 b) with excellent antibacterial activities efficiently promoted the healing of infected wounds in mice. Simple yet novel, nontoxic and biocompatible chalcogenoviologens provided a promising strategy to develop new efficient photosensitizers for photodynamic antimicrobial therapy and skin regeneration.
Keywords: antibiotics; cationic chalcogenoviologens; membrane intercalating agents; photodynamic antimicrobial therapy; skin regeneration.
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