Photophisical properties of alizarin and its potential use as a photosensitizer in photodynamic therapy

• Grant number: 24/00432-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): April 01, 2024
• Effective date (End): April 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Condensed Matter Physics
• Principal Investigator: Wallance Moreira Pazin
• Grantee: Otávio Santiago de Sousa
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências (FC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Bauru. Bauru , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 18/22214-6 - Towards a convergence of technologies: from sensing and biosensing to information visualization and machine learning for data analysis in clinical diagnosis, AP.TEM

Abstract

Bioactive natural compounds stand out for their therapeutic potentials, with some capable of absorbing light, making them candidates for targeted and non-invasive therapies, such as photodynamic therapy (PDT). In this approach, a photosensitizer (PS) is biologically administered and activated by light, resulting in the production of reactive oxygen species, potentially selectively damaging cells, especially cancerous ones. Alizarin is a natural compound with notable positive functional and biological properties, such as biodegradability and non-cytotoxicity. Furthermore, considering that this compound possesses photophysical characteristics similar to those of natural photosensitizers already used in PDT, research to explore its photophysical properties, specifically for therapeutic applications, validates its potential role as a theranostic agent. It can provide diagnostic information about diseases through its photophysical properties while playing a role in their treatment through PDT. The project will be developed using techniques based on optical absorption and fluorescence emission spectroscopy to study the physicochemical and photophysical characteristics of alizarin. Additionally, the use of electron paramagnetic resonance equipment will be explored for quantifying the generation of reactive oxygen species by alizarin.