Engineering hybrid nanostructures for the photocatalytic activation of Pt(IV) prodrugs

Abstract

In this thesis I studied the photocatalytic activation of platinum anticancer agents under blue lightirradiations. This reaction was promoted by the use of flavin molecules as catalyst. In the first part of thethesis, the reaction procedures for the functionalised riboflavin and the platinum complexes employed forthe studies of this thesis, are reported. Then, the photocatalytic activation of Pt(IV) prodrugs was firstinvestigated in a nanozyme model. I used interacting gold nanoparticles as scaffold for the system. Then,I moved the investigation of the photoactivation of the platinum complexes, employing in this caseengineered repeat proteins as templates. The use of protein-based hybrid was indeed adopted forcontrolling the delivery and the photoactivation of platinum prodrugs, mediated by riboflavin, in vitro.