Tag Archives: in vitro

Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – February 2024

February 29, 2024 by Modulight Content
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 Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – February 2024 Photoactivated chemotherapy (PACT) is a novel anticancer therapy where cytotoxic drug is attached into a photocage, which is cleaved by light to release the drug at the tumor site. A new study led by Prof. Sylvestre Bonnet’s group at Leiden University, demonstrated a significantly improved agent for photoactivated chemotherapy. ML6600 laser was used to study the drug release from the photocage, comparing efficacy between red and green light. It was shown that the agent could be effectively released Continue reading →

Co-Packaged PARP inhibitor and photosensitizer for targeted photo-chemotherapy of 3D ovarian cancer spheroids

February 6, 2024 by Modulight Content
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Published in: Cell & Bioscience Authors: Aaron Sorrin, Anika Dasgupta, Kathryn McNaughton, Carla Arnau Del Valle, Keri Zhou, Cindy Liu, Dana M. Roque & Huang Chiao Huang Within the last decade, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) have emerged in the clinic as an effective treatment for numerous malignancies. Preclinical data have demonstrated powerful combination effects of PARPi paired with photodynamic therapy (PDT), which involves light-activation of specialized dyes (photosensitizers) to stimulate cancer cell death through reactive oxygen species generation. In this study, a novel combination strategy was Continue reading →

Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – December 2023

December 28, 2023 by Modulight Content
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Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – December 2023 Organic compounds are one of the leading causes of water pollution. Rhodamine 6G is a commonly used dye in the food and textile industries and can cause cancer when consumed in contaminated water. To tackle this problem, Professor T. Nyokong’s team at Rhodes University studied photocatalysis with ML7710 for degrading rhodamine, and showed increased degradation efficiency when photocatalysis was combined with ultrasound (sonocatalysis). This Laser-Sharp study offers a new method for more efficient degradation of organic pollutants for environmental Continue reading →

Red-Light Activation of a Microtubule Polymerization Inhibitor via Amide Functionalization of the Ruthenium Photocage

December 7, 2023 by Modulight Content
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Published in: Angew Chem Int Ed Authors: Ludovic Bretin, Yurii Husiev, Vadde Ramu, Liyan Zhang, Matthijs Hakkennes, Selda Abyar, Andrew C. Johns, Sylvia E. Le Dévédec, Tania Betancourt, Alexander Kornienko, Sylvestre Bonnet Leiden University A ruthenium-based compound was developed for PACT (photoactivated chemotherapy), which unlike most existing PACT compounds, can be also activated with clinically relevant longer (red) wavelength of light. ML6600 was used for in vivo experiments to superficially activate PACT compound in subcutaneous tumor comparing green and red wavelengths. The tumor volume reduction was Continue reading →

Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – November 2023

November 14, 2023 by Modulight Content
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 Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – November 2023 The development of modern antibiotics is recognized as one of the major achievements of medicine and has saved millions of lives. However, many infectious agents have developed resistance to antibiotics over time, and defining new antibiotic targets has been difficult since very few genes are essential for pathogens. To combat this growing problem, Professor Timothy Haystead’s team at Duke University developed a novel light-based antimicrobial strategy that targets non-essential enzyme on the surface of bacteria. Light activation was Continue reading →

Targeting Borrelia burgdorferi HtpG with a berserker molecule, a strategy for anti-microbial development

November 1, 2023 by Modulight Content
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Published in: Cell Chemical Biology Authors: Dave L. Carlson, Mark Kowalewski, Khaldon Bodoor, Matthew R. Redinbo, Neil Spector, Timothy A.J. Haystead Duke UniversityPublished in: Cell Chemical Biology Authors: Dave L. Carlson, Mark Kowalewski, Khaldon Bodoor, Matthew R. Redinbo, Neil Spector, Timothy A.J. Haystead Duke University Conventional antimicrobial discovery relies on targeting essential enzymes in pathogenic organisms, contributing to a paucity of new antibiotics to address resistant strains. Here, by targeting a non-essential enzyme, Borrelia burgdorferi HtpG, to deliver lethal payloads, we expand what can be considered druggable within any pathogen. We synthesized HS-291, an HtpG inhibitor tethered to the photoactive toxin verteporfin. Reactive oxygen species, generated by light, enables Continue reading →

Development of Robust Cationic Light-Activated Thermosensitive Liposomes: Choosing the Right Lipids

October 24, 2023 by Modulight Content
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Published in: Molecular Pharmaceutics Authors: Puja Gangurde, Mohammad Mahmoudzadeh, Zahra Gounani, Artturi Koivuniemi, Patrick Laurén, Tatu Lajunen, Timo Laaksonen  Published in: Molecular Pharmaceutics Authors: Puja Gangurde, Mohammad Mahmoudzadeh, Zahra Gounani, Artturi Koivuniemi, Patrick Laurén, Tatu Lajunen, Timo Laaksonen The study investigated the impact of different lipids on liposome stability. It was found that substituting unsaturated lipid with equal amount of saturated lipid, resulted in stable liposomes that were highly responsive to light triggered release. ML8500 was used for light-activated release of calcein from liposomes.   Read the article here

Photoimmunotechnology as a powerful biological tool for molecular-based elimination of target cells and microbes, including bacteria, fungi and viruses

October 4, 2023 by Modulight Content
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Published in: Nature Protocols Authors: Tadayuki Iwase, Kimihiro Ito, Takashi Nishimura, Kei Miyakawa, Akihide Ryo, Hisataka Kobayashi, Makoto Mitsunaga The Jikei University School of Medicine  Published in: Nature Protocols Authors: Tadayuki Iwase, Kimihiro Ito, Takashi Nishimura, Kei Miyakawa, Akihide Ryo, Hisataka Kobayashi, Makoto Mitsunaga The Jikei University School of Medicine Microbial pathogens, including bacteria, fungi and viruses, can develop resistance to clinically used drugs; therefore, finding new therapeutic agents is an ongoing challenge. Recently, we reported the photoimmuno-antimicrobial strategy (PIAS), a type of photoimmunotechnology, that enables molecularly targeted elimination of a wide range of microbes, including the viral pathogen severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and the multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogen Continue reading →

Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – August 2023

August 24, 2023 by Modulight Content
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 Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – August 2023 Interleukin 15 (IL-15) is promising candidate for cancer immunotherapy, since it is an inducer of differentiation and proliferation of killer T cells and NK cells. A new study by Fukushima et al. at NCI, published in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, shows increase in therapeutic efficacy in vivo when IL15 was combined with photoimmunotherapy using ML7710 laser system. Intratumoral injection of IL-15 also boosted the immune responses against both the primary tumor as well as abscopal effect eradicating distant, untreated tumor.​ ​​ Read original publication Modulight Continue reading →

Intratumoral interleukin-15 improves efficacy of near-infrared photoimmunotherapy

July 18, 2023 by Modulight Content
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Published in: Molecular Cancer Therapeutics Authors: Hiroshi Fukushima, Aki Furusawa, Takuya Kato, Hiroaki Wakiyama, Seiichiro Takao, Shuhei Okuyama, Peter L. Choyke, Hisataka Kobayashi    Published in: Molecular Cancer Therapeutics Authors: Hiroshi Fukushima, Aki Furusawa, Takuya Kato, Hiroaki Wakiyama, Seiichiro Takao, Shuhei Okuyama, Peter L. Choyke, Hisataka Kobayashi   Interleukin 15 (IL-15) is inducer of differentiation and proliferation of CD8+ T cells and NK cells and thus promising candidate for cancer immunotherapy. This study showed therapeutic efficacy increase in vivo when IL15 was combined with cancer cell-targeted photoimmunotherapy using ML7710 laser system. Intratumoral injection of IL-15 was more effective than intraperitoneal in suppressing tumor growth and inducing intratumoral immune responses, Continue reading →