Dr Dáire GIBBONS



Project title: Triplet state access in multi-component heavy atom free photosensitizers in photomedicine

Employer: University of Amsterdam (UvA, The Netherlands), Cotutelle: Université de Limoges (UNILIM, France)
Supervisors: Dr René WILLIAMS (UvA), Dr. Stéphanie LHEZ (UNILIM)

Research secondments: Politechnika Wroclawska, Biolitec
Practical rotation: PorphyChem

ESR representative at the Supervisory Board (2018-2019)

Research project description and main objectives: One main issue of the POLYTHEA project is to develop photosensitizing dyes which can be used in a modular fashion for a variety of biomedical applications within the consortium. There are multiple advantages in using NIR light for activating photophysical processes relevant for photodynamic therapies.

Thus, this project will focus on the development of new systems than can be excited with NIR light by combining NIR dyes such as cyanines with porphyrins in order to produce reactive oxygen species. Using (photoinduced) charges that can recombine onto local triplet states to generate reactive oxygen species (also with functionalized surfaces) will be adressed.

This project is divided into two parts:

1)      Synthesis of PS with targeted photophysical properties.
2)      Evaluation of these properties

 

Background:
From Dublin, Ireland, he graduated with a B.Sc Chemistry in 2017 from University College Dublin (UCD). He obtained his M.Sc. Organic chemistry and X-ray Crystallography in 2018 from Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin (TCD).

Dáire’s publications:

Links:

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement n°764837