Research in the Spingler Group

The focus of our research is the development of novel agents for cancer treatment. Thereby, we focus on photosensitizers (PSs) for photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal agents (PAs) for photothermal therapy (PTT).

PDT is a rather new therapeutic method for the treatment of a variety of premalignant and malignant diseases. After the administration of a PS to the patient, the tissue of interest is irradiated with light. The light excites the PS into its excited triplet state and upon intersystem crossing (ISC) reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generated while the PS relaxes back to its ground state. These locally-generated ROS then destroy the tissue of interest. The Spingler Group works with various PS classes.

Next to PSs for PDT, we are developing novel PAs for PTT. We work with BODIPY-based PAs and exploit their structural versatility in order to create novel  agents for PTT. In contrast to PSs for PDT, PAs for PTT are not dependent on the generation of ROS to treat the tissue of interest, but locally convert the energy of the absorbed light to heat. This generated heat is then able to kill the cancer cells.

Examples from the Laboratory

BODIPY-Based Photothermal Agents

doi.org/10.1021/jacs.2c11650

Porphyrin-Based Photosensitizers

doi.org/10.1002/anie.201400533

doi.org/10.1002/chem.201405470

doi.org/10.1039/D0CC05196A

doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.1c00415

Phthalocyanine-Based Photosensitizers

doi.org/10.1039/c9pp00336c

doi.org/10.3390/ijms23179525

Chlorin-Based Photosensitizers

doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c00052

BODIPY-Based Photosensitizers

doi.org/10.1002/cmdc.202000702