ω,ω′-Appended nucleo-base derivatives of hypericin

omega,omega'-Disubstituted hypericin derivatives with the nucleo-bases thymine, cytosine, and adenine in these positions were prepared starting from tri-O-methyl-omega-bromoemodin. The most promising derivative proved to be that with a thymine moiety. It displayed the best solubility of the three products together with a potency to produce singlet oxygen and/or reactive oxygen species comparable to the parent compound hypericin. In addition, although no specific interaction with DNA or poly(2'-deoxyadenylic acid) could be detected, it proved to be significantly better accumulating in the nucleus of prostatic cancer LNCaP cells than hypericin making it a promising candidate for a second-generation photodynamic hypericin agent.