Diazepam is a well-known and researched drug from the benzodiazepine family. It is known for its anticonvulsant properties and inhibitory processes on the GABA receptor complex. <i>Danio rerio</i> or zebrafish are a remarkable model organism used for a variety of research purposes. <i>Danio rerio </i>are useful in the development of a prodrug of diazepam because they possess a similar brain and nervous system that is conserved in humans. Caging the diazepam molecule will allow specific portions of the brain to become mapped and intra-brain connections can be better grasped. This is accomplished by activating the caged form of diazepam once it passes the blood brain barrier and is exposed to UV light. To test this idea, zebrafish were exposed to diazepam (DZP) and the photoactivatable form of diazepam (P-DZP) in solution. Brain tissue from the groups was isolated and run through high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to ensure the drug passed through the blood-brain barrier. Behavior tracking was then implemented to see if the P-DZP displayed the same anticonvulsant properties as its uncaged counterpart, DZP. HPLC and behavior analysis showed the photoactivatable version of diazepam crossed the blood-brain barrier, was activated by light, and provided a similar effect as that of its uncaged form.

Zebrafish as a brain model to investigate the anticonvulsant properties of a photoactivatable diazepam

255th National Meeting (2018)

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