Research Seminar Series: Photochemotherapy - Blue Light at the End of the Tunnel

Online via Zoom

The School of Arts and Sciences invites you to a lecture on Photochemotherapy: Blue Light at the End of the Tunnel, presented by LAU Associate Professor of Chemistry Rony Khnayzer. The lecture is part of the School’s Research Seminar Series. 

Click here to join the lecture. 

Abstract: Oncological phototherapy relies on using light in conjunction with photoactivatable drugs for the treatment of cancer. In this work, we will present the rational design of novel sterically strained ruthenium polypyridyl complexes that exhibited potential anti-cancer activity in vitro and in vivo. We will also discuss a serendipitous finding that blue light alone constitutes a promising treatment strategy for skin tumors. In vivo data suggest that short-time exposure to high-intensity LED light is a promising treatment for superficial malignancies. These results were further corroborated with mechanistic studies in vitro. This phototherapy approach could be safely translated in-clinic and might be further exploited as a therapeutic modality for more aggressive skin cancers or internal tumors that are accessible by endoscopy.