Caged Lanthanides for use in Photo-Dynamic Therapy (PDT) and Near Infra-Red (NIR) Imaging (2012-2016)
Abstract
Photo-Dynamic Therapy (PDT) is a substitute option for surgery in the treatment of a variety of conditions, most notably including skin cancer. Using the unique properties of lanthanide metal ions, in conjunction with the properties of known and currently used photosensitising drugs, improved compounds for PDT will be developed, to allow lower therapeutic dosages to be used and improve patient recovery. These compounds will also be developed as Near Infra-Red (NIR) emissive probes for use in NIR tomography, a developing optical imaging technique used to differentiate between healthy and diseased tissue. This project will establish Australian science at the forefront of these two rapidly emerging medical techniques.
