B – Medicinal Chemistry
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- B – Medicinal Chemistry
Coordinator
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Luís G. Arnaut Full Professor |
The medicinal chemistry group consists of two laboratories:
Laboratory of Catalysis & Fine Chemistry
Coordinator:Mariette M. Pereira (mmpereira@qui.uc.pt)
This laboratory develops processes for drug synthesis, namely photosensitizers and potential antibiotics to inactivate viruses and bacteria by photodynamic therapy. It also synthesizes radiopharmaceuticals and new chemical entities for medical imaging with continuous flow techniques. Its interests in medicinal chemistry synthesis with industrial sustainable processes are focused on the preparation of catalysts for transforming CO and CO2 into molecules with potential biological activity and for the photodegradation of antibiotics in the environment. It was here that the first photosensitizer licensed for clinical trials in Portugal was discovered - redaporfin - developed by the spin-off Luzitin SA.
Laboratory of Photomedicine and Reactivity
Coordinator:Luís Guilherme da Silva Arnaut Moreira (lgarnaut@ci.uc.pt)
This laboratory focuses on photochemistry, photobiology and photo-medicine, in order to try to understand how light interacts with molecules, materials and tissues. Alongside, models are developed and tested in order to understand and predict phenomena subsequent to light absorption, covering a wide variety of processes such as molecular reactivity, the responses of the immune system, drug-delivery and gene therapy. A new technology was created - piezoporation - which is commercialized in the cosmetics market by the spin-off LaserLeap SA. In addition to applications in the medical field, the group encourages fundamental research, covering areas as diverse as theory of element chemical reactions or sources of climate change.