LE3 .A278 2015

2015

McFarland, Sherri

Acadia University

Bachelor of Science

Honours

Biology

Biology

Antibiotic treatment has become a standard in the medical field for microbial infections owing to its potency. However, resistant bacteria and negative side effects are key limitations that often hinder its success. There is much interest in nontoxic prodrugs that can be activated by a stimulus to effectively “turn on” cytotoxicity. Photodynamic inactivation (PDI) is an example that focuses on activating these agents, or photosensitizers (PS), with light as an external trigger to destroy, or inhibit the growth of target microorganisms. New metal-based compounds are under investigation to explore their potential as PSs for PDI, such as bis-heteroleptic Ru(II) systems which have been designed to act with high potency against cancer cells and bacteria. The effectiveness of these metal-based PSs as PDI agents has been assessed using a series of biological experiments, including the agar diffusion assay, the macrobroth assay, and the microbroth assay. The light and dark activity of each compound has been tested against Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus mutans using two different light environments. The drug potency for each agent was compared by determining the concentration necessary to inhibit 50% of cell growth (MIC50), allowing for the identification of photoactive compounds. The structures of the effective compounds were compared, and trends that corresponded to specific co-ligands were highlighted.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:1274