UNN scientists develop dual-action antitumour drugs
A joint team of the Department of Organic Chemistry and the Department of Biophysics led by Professor Alexei Fedorov and Associate Professor Irina Balalaeva has been working for over a decade to create and study conjugates. Conjugates are so-called ‘assembled’ molecules based on porphyrin dyes and anticancer drugs. Together, these two classes of pharmaceutical agents can serve as powerful combined-action drugs. The next stage of research development is the project “Cascade Prodrugs for Photodynamic and Targeted Therapy of Tumour Diseases” funded by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation. The first result of the grant project is a review article published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (Q1, impact factor 7.446). The journal is ranked third in the "Medicinal Chemistry" category by Web of Science. The paper focuses on the design, synthesis and properties of photoactive anti-tumour molecules.
Alexander Nyuchev, Head of the Laboratory for Chemistry of Natural Compounds and Their Synthetic Analogues at Lobachevsky University, explains:
"We are engaged in the synthesis of water-soluble molecules that combine the most effective and sought-after approaches to cancer therapy: photodynamic therapy and chemotherapy. These approaches are implemented by different parts of the ‘assembled’ molecule. Each of the components is an independent anti-tumour drug. Together they produce a synergistic effect: the therapeutic effect is several times greater than the combined effect of the same molecules working separately".
According to Alexander Nyuchev who is in charge of the project, the molecules enter the bloodstream and accumulate in the tumour cells. After a while, the tumour is irradiated with light. The light-sensitive component, a porphyrin dye, absorbs light and transfers its energy to neighbouring oxygen molecules. These, in turn, are converted into an excited form that literally ‘burns’ the cancer cells. At the same time, the second component of the assembled molecule, a targeted therapy agent, disrupts cell growth, development and division by blocking key enzymes. All these factors combine to destroy the tumour. Currently, research groups around the world are trying to develop such conjugates. The distinctive feature of the conjugates obtained in Nizhny Novgorod is the combination of the advantages of photodynamic therapy and chemotherapy, and, importantly, these molecules also have the property of targeted delivery specifically to tumour cells, without affecting healthy cells.
