Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) involves irradiation of a tissue with visible light after application of a photosensitizer. Different reactive species are produced, which initiate events that result in inactivation or cell death. The development of photosensitizers and the study of their delivery to sites of the lesions are important to broaden the applications of PDT. The objective of this study was to evaluate the properties of phthalocyanines associated with surfactants that facilitate the distribution and photocatalytic activity of this type of photosensitizer. The spectroscopic properties of absorption and fluorescence were used. In a first step, zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) was evaluated in formulations with different ionic (SDS, CTAB, HPS) and nonionic surfactants (Tween 20, Tween 80, Pluronic F-127 and F-127, Triton X-100). It was found that concentrated solutions of the surfactants with ZnPc in DMF or DMSO form unstable nanoemulsions in aqueous solution. At first, ZnPc is monomeric in the nanoemulsions, but aggregates in the course of time, reducing its efficiency as a sensitizer. The kinetics of aggregation showed that HPS and CTAB form the more stable nanoemulsions with aggregation lifetimes greater than two days. Then, a new menthol phthalocyanine derivative, MentaZnPc, synthesized by K. Oliveira et al., was evaluated in micelles of the surfactants above, and of several polyoxyethylenes. The presence of menthol groups as substituents decreased the stacking tendency and produced a greater solubility in the hydrophobic compartment of the micelles. Fluorescence, singlet oxygen quantum yields and photobleaching of the photosensitizers were evaluated in the microheterogeneous media. The best conditions for 1O2 generation by ZnPc were found in HPS nanoemulsions. MintZnPc presented an excellent singlet oxygen quantum yield in non-ionic micelles, especially in Pluronic F-127, which has been widely used in the pharmaceutical industry.