Research develops hydrogel from silk protein with potential application in photodynamic therapy
Cancer is a set of diseases characterized by uncontrolled multiplication of cells. One of the main methods for treating this disease is chemotherapy, which uses drugs to block the growth of those cells or to destroy them. In this way, most drugs used interfere with mitosis, the cellular mechanism by which new cells are produced. Therefore, both cancerous and healthy cells are affected, leading to several side effects.
Worldwide, considerable effort has been directed at developing new methods that act directly on the target of treatment. This is the case of so-called photodynamic therapy (PDT), a minimally invasive therapeutic procedure that selectively acts on malignant cells.
The procedure involves the administration of a light-sensitive substance, called a photosensitizing agent. When irradiated at specific wavelengths, the photosensitizer releases oxygen in reactive chemical forms that promote the death of malignant cells, infectious agents and the removal of burns.
>Read more on the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) website