Subscribe to LSUWire
Send this to a friend
| Subscribe to LSUWire
|
|
Send this to a friend
|
Smith received the award for work on bacteriochlorophylls. He and his research group were able to show that bacteria can alter the wavelength of their light absorption to combat darkness caused by self-shading, which would otherwise limit or completely obliterate their ability to carry out photosynthesis. “In other words, photosynthetic bacteria generally proliferate in great numbers, which results in their habitat, say, a lake, becoming darker and darker because the organisms self-shade one another,” said Smith. “So these bacteria adapt to the darkness caused by their own absorption of light by changing their photosynthetic receptors at the molecular level so that they absorb light at a different wavelength from other existing bacteria.” Smith still works with chlorophylls, but these days, the focus isn’t bacteria at the bottom of a lake: it’s cancer. Working with photodynamic cancer therapy, a “sensitizer,” usually a porphyrin or chlorophyll derivative, is injected into a patient. The injected materials do not build up in normal tissue but instead gather in malignant tumors. Lasers are then used on the tumor, and the combination of this light plus the injected sensitizer selectively kills only the tumor tissue. “We have a five-year National Institutes of Health grant to develop this technology,” said Smith. “There’s only one FDA-approved drug for this type of treatment, so we’re working hard to invent more – and better – treatments than currently available.” The Bader Award is one of the most prestigious honors handed down from the ACS, granted in recognition of outstanding research accomplishments that are at the interface between biology and organic or inorganic chemistry. Smith will receive an award plaque, a $5,000 prize and be honored at a symposium held during the society’s annual convention in March. He was nominated by Sir Alan Battersby, internationally renowned chemist and professor emeritus of Cambridge University. -30- |
 |  |  |
|