A research team from the Department of Chemistry at Korea University has developed a new phototherapy technology that can kill cancer cells simply by exposure to light. On the 5th, Korea University announced that the team led by Professors Kim Jong-seung, Woo Han-young, and Kwak Kyung-won of the Department of Chemistry had developed a technology that effectively destroys cancer cells by overcoming the shortcomings of photodynamic therapy. Photodynamic therapy uses light to generate reactive oxygen species that kill cancer cells, but it faces a significant reduction in therapeutic efficacy in oxygen-deficient environments.

The research team addressed this issue by developing a “single-molecule photo-theranostics (a technology that enables simultaneous disease diagnosis and treatment) platform,” a substance that is inserted into the membranes of cancer cells. After this substance is embedded in the cancer cell membrane, it generates reactive oxygen species by directly oxidizing the water surrounding the cells upon light irradiation, without any external oxygen supply. The reactive oxygen species induce damage to the cancer cell membrane, causing it to swell and rupture through an inflammatory response, thereby leading to the death of the cancer cells. A notable feature is that, once the substance is inserted, the cancer cell membrane becomes fluorescent, allowing real-time observation of the process of cancer cell destruction. Professor Kim stated, “This study presents a new light-based therapeutic strategy that overcomes oxygen dependence by utilizing the water surrounding cancer cells,” adding, “As a technology that combines therapeutic and imaging (observation) functions at the single-molecule level, it has substantial potential for expansion not only in treating hypoxic tumors but also in immunological response research.”

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