Publication Date

Spring 2012

Document Type

Project Summary

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Analytical Chemistry

First Advisor

Walter Henne, Jr., Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Joseph B. Addison, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Stephen Kent, M.B.A.

Abstract

Targeted drug delivery is a newer and less explored arena that has potential scope in tumor targeting because the regular chemotherapy has lethal effects on the normal cells also. Our present Work was an attempt to specifically target receptors on cancerous cells, especially the Folate Receptor (FR). Folate is important for cells for DNA synthesis and the tissues that rapidly divide require folate, cancer cells are no exceptions for this. To cope with the increased demand for the folate the cancer cells express greater FR on the cell surface. This very fact was our basis for the construction of our probe.

Previous work in the group successfully demonstrated the use of dyes like Rhodamine to link folic acid in the construction of the probe. Dyes like Rhodamine have great advantages but are proven carcinogenic so there is need for more safe linking agents like biotin which is a naturally occurring substance in human body. In this study, the concept of disulfide linkage was applied in order to link Folate Cysteinyl Dithiopyridil to Cysteinyl biotin as a Mass Spectoscopic Probe. Because the mechanism in the study directly bonds via disulfide bond it makes linkage possible with various different types of moieties such including DNA. Because FR is overly produced in malignant cells, several types of dyes and small molecules are being studied as to bind with FR.

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