Studies of porphysomes and J-aggregates and the understanding of light and heat distribuiton to apply in photothermal therapy for tumor treatment

Abstract

Cancer is the name for more than a hundred types of diseases that have in common the loss of cell differentiation ability and uncontrolled growth of cells, resulting in the formation of neoplasia such as tumors. In some cases, the options available for treatment of cancer are considered inefficient and are discarded because of several side effects, showing a need for the discovery of new therapeutic solutions. The photonic alternative therapies are highly visible since they are located and have reducing side effects. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is based in the interaction among light, a photosensitive agent and the molecular oxygen, which results in the death of the target cell. Despite its wide application, there are few studies about the effects of temperature on the PDT mechanisms. Photothermia is the technique that uses light to increase the temperature of a region to treat, e.g., cancers and the increased thermal effect can be obtained by introducing nanoparticles into the tumor region. The objective of this project is to understand the synergistic effect of the combination of these two therapies, which use light as a fundamental element. For this, two types of nanoparticles will be synthesized with effective heat production when irradiated, and also a photosensitizer molecule will be added. With the production of these nanoparticles, in vitro studies will be performed in vivo and in ovo to increase the understanding of the mechanisms of heat production in normal and tumor tissue besides the analysis of the efficacy of the photodynamic and photothermal therapies, individually. Understanding their individual effects, this project proposes a new therapeutic modality using a combination of both for the treatment of cancer.