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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Photodynamic Therapy Agents: The Power Of Mjöllnir To Eradicate Cancer, Sidney M. Hopper
Photodynamic Therapy Agents: The Power Of Mjöllnir To Eradicate Cancer, Sidney M. Hopper
Honors College Theses
After its discovery back in the 1900s, photosensitizers became a critical study for potential treatments and cures for medical issues, including cancer. It was discovered that porphyrins appeared to target and accumulate in proliferating cells, and to reach the cells, a certain wavelength of light with maximum absorbance associated with the porphyrin was necessary to achieve cell death. Photodynamic therapy involves making use of porphyrins or metalloporphyrins as activators when exposed to such light. When activated, these compounds generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as HO- or O2-, which can react with nucleic acids found in DNA and RNA. In …
Caspases And Cancer: Connections Through Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy, Sarah M. Hethcox
Caspases And Cancer: Connections Through Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy, Sarah M. Hethcox
Honors College Theses
While excessive cell death inevitably leads to negative effects, the endurance of damaged cells in the presence of death signals can be equally detrimental to health. Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is a highly regulated process in which cues from within or from outside a cell can trigger an irreversible sequence of signals that carry out cell destruction known as the apoptotic cascade. A group of enzymes called caspases play a vital role in this cascade with some participating as initiators and others acting as effectors of protein cleavage and intracellular breakdown. Although it is normal for the activity of …