Versatile Supramolecular Complex for Targeted Antimicrobial Photodynamic Inactivation

Description

We report the development of a supramolecular structure endowed with photosensitizing properties and targeting capability- for antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation. Our synthetic strategy uses the tetrameric bacterial protein streptavidin, labeled with the photosensitizer eosin, as the main building block. Biotinylated immunoglobulin G (IgG) from human serum, known to associate with Staphylococcus aureus protein A, was bound to the complex streptavidin-eosin. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and fluorescence microscopy demonstrate binding of the complex to S. aureus. Efficient photoinactivation is observed for S. aureus suspensions treated with IgG-streptavidin-eosin at concentrations higher than 0.5 mu M and exposed to green light. The proposed strategy offers a flexible platform for targeting a variety of molecules and microbial species.

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