Doctoral Themes

Nanoparticles for smart protection of metal complexes derived from 8-hydroxyquinoline Schiff bases for cancer therapy

Supervisors

Isabel Correia, icorreia@tecnico.ulisboa.pt

Carla Nunes, cmnunes@fc.ul.pt

Registration Institution

Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa

Project description

Cancer is one of the most challenging diseases with cancer-related deaths rising as life expectancy increases. Drug targeting and delivery are key issues in anticancer research. The drug delivery is of major importance in assuring that a certain molecule will arrive without decomposition or secondary reactions at the target to perform its task with efficiency. Nanoparticles can be used as drug delivery systems to improve the compound’s selectivity, solubility, safety and bioavailability. Hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles have been shown to be adequate and advantageous, due to their biocompatibility that enables a broad series of biologically relevant interventions and interactions with cells.

The aim of this PhD project is to develop novel anticancer metallodrugs and immobilize them in nanoparticles for more effective drug targeting and delivery. A new set of metal complexes will be prepared with new bioactive ligands, and they will be encapsulated in hollow mesoporous nanomaterials. The antiproliferative properties of all compounds will be screened, and their solution speciation accessed. The ligands chosen are hydroxyquinoline-derived molecules that will be modified to increase chelating ability and vary electronic and chemical properties. The cytotoxicity assays and studies regarding cell death mechanisms will be done within national and international collaborations, in which the PhD student may be involved. COST action CA18202 will allow short term scientific missions to be carried abroad.

The project merges research and expertise in two thematic lines: MEDLife (coordination compounds as anticancer agents) and MATSoft (production of hybrid organic - inorganic materials for nanomedicine).

 

Keywords

Metallodrugs; 8-hydroxyquinolines; Anti-cancer; Nanomaterials; Mesoporous silica

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