Iridium bound to albumin can attack cancer cells when it is illuminated in the light

A new compound based on Iridium, a rare metal that landed in the Gulf of Mexico 66 million years ago, bound to albumin, a protein in the blood, can attack the nucleus of cancer cells when It is lit by light, researchers at the University of Warwick have discovered.

The treatment of cancer by light, called photodynamic therapy, relies on chemicals called photosensitizers, which can be activated in light to produce oxidative species that kill cancer cells. Clinicians can selectively activate these compounds where the tumor is located (using fiber optics), killing the cancer cells and leaving the healthy cells intact.

Thanks to the special chemical coating used, the Warwick group was able to connect Iridium to the albumin blood protein, which then shone very brightly to follow its pbadage through the cancer cells, where it converted oxygen to its own oxygen. form that killed them.

Not only is the newly formed molecule an excellent photosensitizer, but Albumin is able to introduce it into the nucleus, inside the cancer cells. The dormant compound can then be activated by light irradiation and destroy the cancer cells from their very center.

The brilliant luminescence of the iridium photosensitizer allowed to follow in real time its accumulation in the nucleus of the tumor cells and its activation leading to the death of the cancer cells with the help of a microscope.

Professor Peter Sadler, from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Warwick, comments:

"It is amazing that this large protein can enter cancer cells and deliver iridium that can kill them selectively during activation in visible light.If this technology can be translated into clinical, it could be effective against resistant cancers and reduce the side effects of chemotherapy "

Dr. Cinzia Imberti, from the University of Warwick, comments:

"It's fascinating to see how albumin can provide our photosensitizer so specifically to the nucleus – we're at a very early stage, but we're looking forward to seeing where the preclinical development of this new compound can lead."

"Our team is not only extremely multidisciplinary, including biologists, chemists and pharmacists, but also a strong international, including young researchers from China, India and Italy, supported by the Royal Society Newton and Sir Henry Wellcome Scholarships. "