Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Physical Chemistry Seminar Series

Professor Teresa Rapp, University of Oregon
November 4, 2024 —2:00pm
Tykeson 140

Title: Photo-scissile Ruthenium Compounds for Tissue Engineering and Drug Delivery

Biology is complex. Any biological process we may wish to replicate, modulate, or direct exhibits complexity in both space and time. Spatial gradients of soluble proteins direct cell migration and proliferation. Cell populations must increase and decrease over various timescales. Any disruption to this order leads to a disordered state which is indicated in various diseases, chronic wounds, or tumorigenesis. If we wish to study these disordered systems, we need a platform that affords us control over biological events in both space and time.

Light offers both the researcher and clinician control over biological events in space and time. We leverage the uniquely powerful photochemistry of ruthenium polypyridyl compounds to trigger complex events in biological systems, from changing material environments to releasing drug cargoes on demand.

In this presentation I will discuss how we design and leverage ruthenium’s photochemistry and synthetic accessibility to produce the next generation of photodynamic biomaterials.