Professor Claudia Turro, a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry at Ohio State University, with Professor Kim Dunbar from Texas A& M University as the co-PI, is supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry Program to design metal complexes that can be photoactivated and bind to DNA. New ruthenium complexes will be developed to provide an alternative to photodynamic therapy agents that generate singlet oxygen as the reactive species. Activation of the metal reagent via photoaquation with low energy light will localize the activated complex in the irradiated area.
The role that cis-platin plays as an antitumor drug includes severe limitations that justify seeking alternative metal complexes as DNA binders. The possibility of selective photoactivation of ruthenium complexes that will bind to DNA drives this research project. Broad based training in coordination chemistry, biochemistry and photochemistry offer multiple advantages to students while developing important fundamental photophysical principles.
