Projects per year
Abstract
Photoactivatable molecules enable ablation of malignant cells under the control of light, yet current agents can be ineffective at early stages of disease when target cells are similar to healthy surrounding tissues. In this work, we describe a chemical platform based on amino-substituted benzoselenadiazoles to build photoactivatable probes that mimic native metabolites as indicators of disease onset and progression. Through a series of synthetic derivatives, we have identified the key chemical groups in the benzoselenadiazole scaffold responsible for its photodynamic activity, and subsequently designed photosensitive metabolic warheads to target cells associated with various diseases, including bacterial infections and cancer. We demonstrate that versatile benzoselenadiazole metabolites can selectively kill pathogenic cells -but not healthy cells- with high precision after exposure to non-toxic visible light, reducing any potential side effects in vivo. This chemical platform provides powerful new tools to exploit cellular metabolic signatures for safer therapeutic and surgical approaches.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Nature Communications |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 22 Apr 2021 |
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Dive into the research topics of 'Photoactivatable metabolic warheads enable precise and safe ablation of target cells in vivo'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 5 Finished
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Systematic analysis of metabolic change in the earliest pre-neoplastic cell niche for identifying possible targets for early detection and intervention
Feng, Y. (Principal Investigator)
1/02/19 → 31/07/23
Project: Research
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Dynamic Activatable Fluorophores
Vendrell Escobar, M. (Principal Investigator)
1/06/18 → 31/05/23
Project: Research
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Fellowship for Antonio Fernandez. FLUORODRUGS: Smart Theranostic Agents for the Tumour Microenvironment
Vendrell Escobar, M. (Principal Investigator)
1/01/17 → 31/12/18
Project: Research
Equipment
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Institute for Regeneration and Repair Flow Cytometry Facility
Johnston, S. (Manager), Rossi, F. (Manager), Cryer, C. (Other) & Laird, A. (Other)
Institute of Regeneration and RepairFacility/equipment: Facility