Three mono-hydroxy corroles 1–3 and their gallium(III) complexes Ga1-3 were synthesized, and their photodynamic antitumour activities towards breast cancer cells were investigated. All corroles showed excellent cytotoxicity against the MDA-MB-231 and 4T1 cell lines upon light irradiation at 625 nm. Ga3 exhibited excellent phototoxicity and selectivity against MDA-MB-231 cells, with an IC₅₀ of 0.06 ± 0.03 μM and a selective index value of 1338.83 (relative to human normal Huvec cells). The performance of Ga3 was even better than that of the clinical photodynamic therapy drug m-THPC. A preliminary mechanistic investigation revealed that corrole 3 and Ga3 were mainly located in the cytoplasm. Upon irradiation, they could generate intracellular reactive oxygen to destroy the mitochondrial membrane potential and arrest the cell cycle at the sub-G1 phase. Flow cytometry revealed that corrole 3 and Ga3 induced cancer cell apoptosis after photodynamic treatment. Corrole 3 and Ga3 displayed negligible cytotoxicity in the dark. These results suggest that corrole 3 and Ga3 are promising candidates for use in the photodynamic therapy of breast cancer.

三单羟基corroles 1 - 3和它们的镓（III）络合物GA1 - 3合成，和它们的光动力抗肿瘤活性向乳腺癌细胞进行了研究。在625 nm的光照射下，所有的酚对MDA-MB-231和4T1细胞系均表现出优异的细胞毒性。Ga3对MDA-MB-231细胞表现出优异的光毒性和选择性，IC ₅₀为0.06±0.03μM，选择性指数值为1338.83（相对于人类正常Huvec细胞）。Ga3的性能甚至优于临床光动力疗法药物m-THPC。初步的机理研究表明，Corrole 3和Ga3主要位于细胞质中。照射后，它们可能产生细胞内活性氧，破坏线粒体膜电位，并使细胞周期停留在亚G1期。流式细胞仪显示光动力学治疗后，corrole 3和Ga3诱导癌细胞凋亡。Corrole 3和GA3在黑暗中显示的可以忽略不计的细胞毒作用。这些结果表明，Corrole 3和Ga3是用于乳腺癌光动力疗法的有希望的候选者。