The polypyridyl Cr(III) complexes have a potential use as phototherapeutic agents in photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy (PACT). These photosensitizers exhibit the ability to induce DNA damage after reaching its excited state, and the capability of impairing the survival of irradiated bacteria.
Proteins are one of the cellular constituents that are susceptible to photooxidation reactions. The photooxidation of amino acid side chains can cause significant alterations in the physicochemical properties of proteins and can subsequently lead to cellular damage. In particular, the amino acid tryptophan (Trp) and tyrosine (Tyr) are important targets in the cell, which are highly vulnerable to photodynamic action