Photoactivated metallodrugs: lighting the way to novel therapies

据估计，在我们的一生中，超过三分之一的人会患上癌症，四分之一的人会因癌症而死亡。科学家在对抗这种疾病方面发挥着重要作用。在世界范围内开展的活动，从了解癌症病因的基础研究到本提案的课题--抗癌新疗法的开发，都是以金属原子为重要成分的新药（金属药物）的研究，这些药物只有在光照射（光活化）的情况下才对癌细胞产生毒性。光敏药物和激光作为光源的组合意味着可以仔细控制治疗部位，最大限度地减少副作用并避免杀死健康细胞。为了优化治疗，这项研究还将开发新的方法，使用现代激光器通过光纤传输照射癌细胞，从而使身体的任何部位都能被照射。此外，将研究将药物输送到癌细胞的新方法。将研究的药物递送方法是使用脂质体，其充当微观球形容器。这些可用于储存大量的金属药物，并通过修饰脂质体的表面优先结合癌细胞。现代科学对仪器和技术的要求越来越高，癌症研究也不例外。本提案中描述的研究依赖于最先进的激光系统和先进的显微镜，这些系统和显微镜可在爱丁堡大学的专业COSMIC中心获得。这项研究还将涉及与生物学家和临床医生的密切合作，从长远来看，这些光活化金属药物和脂质体递送系统将在未来5-10年内进入临床试验。在这方面，这一研究领域处于有利地位，可以从快速发展的英国生物技术部门中受益，从而最大限度地发挥开发潜力。

It is estimated that more than one in three of us will develop cancer in our lifetime, and for one in four it will be the cause of death. Scientists play an important role in combating this illness. Worldwide activities range from basic research into understanding the causes of cancer to the subject of this proposal, which is the development of new anticancer treatments.This research is concerned with the study of new drugs that have metal atoms as important constituents (metallodrugs), and which only become toxic to cancer cells upon irradiation of light (photoactivation). The combination of light-sensitive drugs and lasers as light sources means that the site of treatment can be carefully controlled, minimising side effects and avoiding killing healthy cells. To optimise the treatment, this research will also develop new ways to irradiate cancer cells using modern lasers with optical fibre delivery, thereby allowing any part of the body to be irradiated. In addition, new ways to deliver the drugs to the cancer cells will be studied. The drug-delivery method that will be investigated is the use of liposomes, which act as microscopic spherical containers. These can be used to store large amounts of the metallodrug and to preferentially bind to cancer cells by modifying the surface of the liposome. It may even be possible to burst open and release the drugs upon demand by activating light-sensitive molecules in the liposome.Modern science invariably requires increasingly sophisticated instrumentation and technology, and cancer research is no exception. The research described in this proposal is reliant on state of the art laser systems and advanced microscopes, which are available at the specialist COSMIC centre within the University of Edinburgh. This research will also involve close collaboration with biologists and clinicians, and the longer-term view would be for these photoactivated metallodrugs and liposome delivery systems to be in clinical trials in the next 5-10 years. In this respect, this area of research is well positioned to benefit from the rapidly expanding UK biotechnology sector, thereby maximising the potential for exploitation.