Project Description:
Project Summary
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) represents a compelling, minimally invasive avenue to avoid the pitfalls of conventional cancer treatments. PDT relies on a photosensitizer (PS) drug that is dispersed throughout the body and activated via exposure to light. Current PS are limited in two critical ways: minimal absorption in the therapeutic window (600 – 900 nm) and lack of selective tumor targeting. We propose to overcome these limitations by selectively targeting cancer cells based on the inherent acidity of tumors and by delivering optimized isocorrole-based PS with strong absorption above 800 nm. To achieve our goal, we have assembled a multidisciplinary research team: Thévenin (selective drug delivery, biophysical characterization, cell-based assays), and Young (optimization and photophysical measurements of small molecules). This project is ideally-suited to the BDSI program, as it allows students to be exposed to a wide range of research techniques ranging from chemistry and photophysics, to biophysics and cell biology.