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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, March 2000, p. 522-527, Vol. 44, No. 3
0066-4804/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Mechanism of Uptake of a Cationic Water-Soluble Pyridinium Zinc Phthalocyanine across the Outer Membrane of Escherichia coli

Andrew Minnock,1 David I. Vernon,1,2 Jack Schofield,1,3 John Griffiths,1,3 J. Howard Parish,1,2 and Stanley B. Brown1,2,*

Centre for Photobiology and Photodynamic Therapy,1 School of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,2 and Department of Colour Chemistry,3 University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom

Received 21 July 1999/Returned for modification 14 October 1999/Accepted 29 November 1999

Previous studies have shown that a cationic water-soluble pyridinium zinc phthalocyanine (PPC) is a powerful photosensitizer that is able to inactivate Escherichia coli. In the current work incubation of E. coli cells with PPC in the dark caused alterations in the outer membrane permeability barrier of the cells, rendering the bacteria much more sensitive to hydrophobic compounds, with little effect seen with hydrophilic compounds. Addition of Mg2+ to the medium prior to incubation of the cells with PPC prevented these alterations in the outer membrane permeability barrier. The presence of Mg2+ in the medium also prevented the photoinactivation of E. coli cells with PPC. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that PPC gains access across the outer membrane of E. coli cells via the self-promoted uptake pathway, a mechanism of uptake postulated for the uptake of other cationic compounds across the outer membranes of gram-negative bacteria.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: School of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom. Phone: 0113 2333166. Fax: 0113 2333017. E-mail: S.B.Brown{at}leeds.ac.uk.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, March 2000, p. 522-527, Vol. 44, No. 3
0066-4804/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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