Tag Archives: verteporfin

Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – November 2023

 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

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 →

Light penetration depth in brain with different photosensitizers

  Motivation for the study Glioblastoma is the most aggressive and lethal brain cancer with an average prognosis of 15 months. Fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS) for glioblastoma was FDA-approved in 2017, while photodynamic therapy (PDT) remains an active area of clinical investigation with very promising results so far. The aim of PDT is to eradicate the invasive cancer cells within 2 cm of the resected area where the glioblastoma most often recurs. However, a significant hurdle of this therapy modality is the limited light penetration depth Continue reading →Customer case Research by: University of Maryland, Optical Therapeutics & Nanotechnology Laboratory led by Prof. Huang. Research focuses on precision cancer nanomedicine, drug delivery strategies, overcoming cancer resistance, mechanism-based combination therapies, site-directed photochemistry and fluorescence diagnostics. Modulight has started a joint R&D program with Dr. Huang lab to study novel EGFR-targeted combination therapy/diagnostic agent PIC-Nal-IRI developed by Huang lab. Modulight products: ML6600 laser system (635 nm and 689 nm). Professor Huang-Chiao Huang Laser use: Targeted photodynamic therapy/photoimmunotherapy with benzoporphyrin derivative (BPD) & 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) photosensitizers. Continue reading →

Development of heat shock protein 90-targeted PDT for inflammatory breast cancer

Motivation of the study In photodynamic therapy (PDT), systemically administered photosensitizer is activated within the tumor using focused near-infrared light, typically a laser with a wavelength matching the absorption peak of the photosensitizer. Several photosensitizers have been clinically approved for the treatment of different cancers; however, their accumulation is non-tumor exclusive which exposes healthy tissues to side effects like daylight-induced phototoxicity. A promising strategy to improve tumor selectivity is to couple photosensitizer to a tumor-targeting agent that binds to a specific antigen expressed on the Continue reading →Customer case Research by: Duke University, founded in 1924, is one of the leading and wealthiest private research universities in the USA. The most notable Duke alumni is President Richard Nixon. Research at Duke University has been awarded with several Nobel prizes in recent years for groundbreaking discoveries in biochemistry and medicine, such as G-protein coupled receptors, DNA mismatch repair, and cellular regulation of hypoxia. Modulight products: ML8500, ML7710 (665 nm, 689 nm, 750 nm) Laser use: Heat shock protein 90-targeted PDT for breast cancer Continue reading →

Heat shock protein 90-targeted photodynamic therapy enables treatment of subcutaneous and visceral tumors

Published in: Communications Biology Authors: Kensuke Kaneko, Takuya Osada, Michael A. Morse, William R. Gwin, Joshua D. Ginzel, Joshua C. Snyder, Xiao-Yi Yang, Cong-Xiao Liu, Márcio A. Diniz, Khaldon Bodoor, Philip F. Hughes, Timothy AJ. Haystead, H. Kim Lyerly    Published in: Communications Biology Authors: Kensuke Kaneko, Takuya Osada, Michael A. Morse, William R. Gwin, Joshua D. Ginzel, Joshua C. Snyder, Xiao-Yi Yang, Cong-Xiao Liu, Márcio A. Diniz, Khaldon Bodoor, Philip F. Hughes, Timothy AJ. Haystead, H. Kim Lyerly   ML7710 was used for in vivo and ML8500 coupled to ML7710 for in vitro studies of HSP90-targeted verteporfin PDT for breast cancer. This strategy has both diagnostic and therapeutic potential across all breast cancer subtypes found up to few cm in depth, and may provide Continue reading →