An effective zinc phthalocyanine derivative against multidrug-resistant bacterial infection

Bacterial skin and soft tissue infections are abundant worldwide. The rise in the incidence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections has made the need for alternative means of treatment more pressing. We herein report a zinc phthalocyanine derivative, pentalysine beta-carbonylphthalocyanine zinc (ZnPc-(Lys)(5)) and its strong capability of killing nosocomial MDR bacteria, including MDR-Escherichia coli and MDR-Acinetobacter baumannii. In vitro studies, we observed that ZnPc-(Lys)(5) in micromolar concentrations killed above MDR bacteria in 6 similar to 6.5 log10 orders with only 5-min illumination of red light at a dosage of 12.75 J/cm(2)). Further in vivo studies on a mouse infection model demonstrated that ZnPc-(Lys)(5) efficiently inhibited the MDR bacterial growth after one-time photodynamic antibacterial therapy and, interestingly, significantly accelerated the wound healing. Putting together, our findings establish ZnPc-(Lys)(5) as a potent antimicrobial candidate for the clinical test on localized infection.