Development of new dual-action photochemotherapy (PCT) for the treatment of Leishmaniasis

• Grant number: 15/50251-5
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: February 01, 2017
• End date: January 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biophysics - Radiology and Photobiology
• Agreement: Ohio State University
• Principal Investigator: Mauricio da Silva Baptista
• Grantee: Mauricio da Silva Baptista
• Principal researcher abroad: Claudia Turro
• Institution abroad: Ohio State University, Columbus, United States
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The use of light as a therapeutic modality has recently became an attractive mode of therapy due to the development of efficient and affordable light sources, together with its law invasiveness and law systemic toxicity. We aim to develop new multi-functional drugs whose action is activated by light and that focus on specific targets of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). We believe that is imperative to bring together complementary areas of expertise of the Turro and Baptista groups to allow de development of new drugs and new concepts in this field. We established three specific goals: I) the synthesis and characterization of new complexes containing two distinct modes of action to achieve cell death upon photoactivation; II) the quantification of the ability of the complexes to undergo photoinduced sensitization of singlet oxygen and drug release upon irradiation; and III) the biological testing in leishmania parasites and in infected macrophages. To our knowledge, these represent the first compounds to be tested as single-molecule "drug cocktails" for multi-faceted targeting of CL, as well as the first to combine PDT and caged drug release upon irradiation with law energy visible and near-IR light. (AU)