Publication Date
Fall 2010
Document Type
Project Summary
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Analytical Chemistry
First Advisor
Patty Fu-Giles, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Walter Henne, Jr., Ph.D.
Third Advisor
Stephen Kent, M.B.A.
Abstract
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising treatment that has continued to improve over the past thirty years when the first commercially approved photosensitizer (PS) was introduced. Although PDT has many successful applications, the terrifying number of new cancer cases reported each year makes scientists focus their efforts towards the development of new efficient PS for PDT. The biggest obstacle that prohibits PDT from becoming a more widely used therapy is the ineffective photosensitizers (PS) that are available on the market today. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the synthesized metal-porphyrin complex as a possible candidate as a PS. The metalloporphyrin was synthesized from the combination of protoporphyrin and europium. The experiments performed in this research to evaluate the new drug were spectroscopic measurements, DNA photocleavage studies, phototoxic tests, and DNA binding. The results obtained provide this new drug, which is in its initial developing stages, with great future potential in the PDT field.
Recommended Citation
Blinder, Alejandro, "Synthesis and Characterization of an Europium-Porphyrin Complex" (2010). All Capstone Projects. 32.
https://opus.govst.edu/capstones/32