Spring 2026 | Chemistry Seminar Series
"Photodynamic Chemotherapy Application for Cancer Treatment"
Dr. Meden Isaac-Lam
Professor, Department of Chemistry, Purdue University - Northwest
Thursday, March 19th, 3:30pm in FB-253
Abstract: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a non-invasive, cost-effective treatment for a variety of conditions, including cancer and bacterial infections. This therapeutic approach utilizes light of specific wavelengths to activate a photosensitizer (PS), a light-sensitive agent. When administered to diseased cells and exposed to light, the PS generates reactive oxygen species, which cause oxidative damage and subsequent cell death. Unlike chemotherapy, PDT is highly selective and has low mutagenic potential, thereby minimizing harmful systemic side effects and avoiding damage to surrounding healthy tissues. Photodynamic chemotherapy is a binary treatment that is composed of a combination of light treatment of the photosensitizer and conventional chemotherapeutic drugs. This research is focused on the chemical synthesis of a series of chlorin (a chlorophyll derivative) conjugated to vitamins or vitamin analogues and the photodynamic evaluation of the synthesized photosensitizers in prostate and triple-negative breast cancer cell lines. Binary treatment with paclitaxel, fluorouracil, doxorubicin, methotrexate and cisplatin was evaluated in vitro against triple-negative breast cancer cells. The best photodynamic efficacy for binary treatment was exhibited by the combination of chlorin-lipoic acid and paclitaxel. The synthesized chlorin-vitamin conjugates can have potential applications for PDT against breast or prostate cancer. PDT offers a promising alternative strategy in an era of growing cancer incidence.