A theoretical study of 5-Aminolevulinic acid and its esters : properties and lipid permeability

Sammanfattning: 5-aminolevulinic acid (5ALA) is a widely used prodrug in Photodynamic therapy (PDT). The target molecule in 5ALA-PDT is Protoporphyrin IX (PpIX), which is synthesized endogenously via the heme pathway in the cell. In this thesis; the structural and energetic properties of 5ALA, its methyl-, ethyl- and hexyl esters, four different 5ALA enols, and hydrated 5ALA have been investigated using Quantum Mechanical (QM) first principles calculations. The vacuum proton affinity (PA) of 5ALA is found to be in good agreement with other similar compounds. The keto-enol tautomerization mechanism of 5ALA has been studied, and a self-catalysis mechanism has been proposed to be the most probable. Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations of a lipid bilayer have been performed to study the membrane permeability of 5ALA and its esters. In the simulations the molecules were inserted in the middle of the membrane, equilibrated, and then simulated in 20 ns. It has been found that there are some differences in penetration between the molecules studied. The methyl ester of 5ALA is diverging from the others by having its barrier not in the middle of the membrane, as the others have.