Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of a highly water-soluble psoralen-based photosensitizer

Publication date: Available online 28 February 2017
Source:Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry
Author(s): Yoshiyuki Uruma, Takuya Nonomura, Priscilla Yoong Mei Yen, Marie Edatani, Ryotaro Yamamoto, Kunishige Onuma, Futoshi Okada
In recent years, photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been approved for treating various medical conditions, including cancer. PDT is a treatment that employs a particular drugs, called photosensitizers which work along with specific light source. The growth of this medical industry is expanding as it is another promising alternative to treat cancer which lessen the burden of treatments in patients. This includes the benefits of minimally invasive procedures and delivering high accuracy in targeting mutations. In recent two decades, cancer researchers have produced remarkable studies on developing photosensitizers that enhance understanding of biology and genetics of cancer. It is unfortunate that not all PDT can work as well as other profound treatment because PDT has various limitations like PDT leads photosensitivity reaction that arises when the photosensitizer remains in the body for a long period of time. In this paper, our studies centers on synthesizing a highly soluble photosensitizing agent with improved effectiveness on detecting cancer cells.

Graphical abstract

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