Phenalenone-triazolium salt derivatives as promising photosensitizers for aPDT

Rising antibiotic resistance urgently demand to develop new antimicrobial therapeutics. Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy (aPDT) has been recently proposed as an alternative to antibiotics. This versatile technique relies on the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by light-irradiated photosensitizers (PS) in the presence of oxygen (O2). Many photosensitizers have been used in various strategies, such as, for example, porphyrins conjugated with antimicrobial peptides [1]. Most of these photosensitizers have two major limitations: their synthesis is complex, and quantum yield of singlet oxygen production is rarely optimal.