Devashish Sengupta
Assam University, India
Title: Role of free-base and metallated porphyrin derivatives promoting apoptosis as a consequence of cancer photodynamic therapy: synthesis, characterization, and photobiological activities
Biography
Biography: Devashish Sengupta
Abstract
Structural modifications of free-base and metallated hydrophilic porphyrin macrocycles: (a) with combinations of different cationic/anionic/neutral aromatic functions at the meso-positions, (b) capable of forming nanocomposites with Fe3O4 nanoparticles, and (c) functionalized with fullerenes through linkers via electrovalent or covalent interactions are designed, synthesized, isolated and characterized. Redshifts of absorption wavelengths beyond 640 nm along with the production of high quantum yields of singlet oxygen were achieved through the mentioned modes of derivatization of porphyrins under photodynamic conditions. Upon treatment of various cancer cell lines with these photosensitizers (PSs), some of them demonstrated significant ability to upregulate cellular reactive oxygen species (singlet oxygen) along with the promotion of apoptosis. The structure-activity relationship (SAR) that evolved between the photochemistry, photophysics and photobiological activities of these derivatives is indicative of their roles as well-suited candidates for non-invasive targeted oncological photodynamic therapy (PDT). Efficient accumulation of some of these PSs into the oxygen-rich cell organelles like mitochondria, further establish their potentials as possible alternatives to the commercially used PSs to treat malignant tumors in cancer PDT.