Improved photodynamic therapy activity of plasmonic nanoparticles and their nanoconjugates with functional dyes

Description:
Cancer accounts for one of the major leading causalities of global morbidity and mortality. Several interventions have been explored in the management or treatment of this disease condition including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. Unfortunately, these therapeutic approaches are not always helpful due to a number of limitations such as lack of specificity causing deaths of both normal and cancer cells. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been demonstrated to be a dependable targeted treatment strategy for cancer due to its specificity. PDT involves the utilization of light-sensitive drug molecules (known as photosensitisers) and light of an appropriate wavelength in the presence of tissue molecular oxygen to generate a reactive oxygen specie in order to eliminate tumorigenic cells [1, 2]. For PDT to be successful, a suitable photosensitiser is essential.
Herein, photosensitisers (PSs) containing plasmonic nanoparticles (silver and gold) were synthesised and covalently coupled with functional dyes. The synthesised PSs were characterised using various analytical techniques including NMR, MS, FT-IR, XRD, and TEM. The PDT activity of the PSs against epithelial breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) was investigated.
The functional dyes demonstrated improved photo-physicochemical and PDT activity in the presence of the plasmonic nanoparticles making them promising photosensitisers in the treatment of tumorigenic cells.
References
[1] Edith Dube et al., (2019): Photophysicochemical and photodynamic therapy properties of metallophthalocyanines linked to gold speckled silica nanoparticles. Photodiagnosis and Photodynamic Therapy 25, 325-333
[2] David O. Oluwole et al., (2018): Evaluation of the photophysicochemical properties and photodynamic therapy activity of nanoconjugates of zinc phthalocyanine linked to AuNPs–GSH and Au3Ag1NPs–GSH. Dyes and Pigments 150, 139-150.

Speaker: David O. Oluwole - University of Surrey
Experienced Scientist with a proven research record in Inorganic and Organic Chemistry, Synthetic Supramolecular Chemistry, Colloid Chemistry, Spectroscopy, Drug Design and Development, Formulation, Chromatography, Mammalian Cell-Based Assay, and Pharmaceutical Analysis. Astute administrative professional with a Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry from Rhodes University, South Africa, an h–index of 17, and over 5 years of postdoctoral experience. Proficient in scientific/grant writing, public speaking, research project ideation, and implementation as well as supervision of early career scientists. Currently, I serve on the editorial board of Frontiers in Chemistry as an Associate Editor.