Our laboratories at UCSB have long been concerned with developing strategies and materials for the delivery of bioactive small molecules such as nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon disulfide to physiological targets.NO plays key roles in the cardiovascular system, in antibacterial applications and in cancer therapy, while interest in CO draws from its possible roles in wound healing and in suppressing inflammation. Although delivery of these moieties to such targets has potential therapeutic applications, precise spatial-temporal control is essential. For example, excess NO delivered systemically can induce precipitous blood pressure decline; indeed, this is a cause of toxic shock. Photo-uncaging, in principle, allows one to define the location, timing and dosage of delivery and has drawn considerable interest as an investigative tool and as a strategy for the treatment of specific disease states. An example of the latter would be the uncaging of NO during radiotherapy, since it is a known radiation sensitizer.  However, a key challenge in such photochemical delivery is the poor transmission of UV and Visible light through tissue.  Addressing this issue has been a major focus of our recent studies and will be the subject of this presentation.

Challenges in photochemical delivery to physiological sites

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.