The Florey Institute
  • Home
  • News and Events
  • Research
  • The Team
  • Antimicrobial Resistance MSc
  • Contact
Picture
Isuru Muthukudaarachchi

Email:                   iumuthukudaarachchi1@sheffield.ac.uk
​PhD:                      2017-
Department:   
Chemistry
Supervisor(s): Dr Simon Whawell (Clinical Dentistry)
                               
Prof. Julia Weinstein (Chemistry)
                                     
                               
​Project:  Transition metal complexes as new antimicrobial-PDT agents

Photodynamic (light-activated) therapy (PDT) is an emerging powerful approach to treat illnesses. It uses special drugs which are only toxic when illuminated by visible light, but remain non-toxic without light. This approach presents tremendous opportunities for targeted therapy and dramatically reduce side-effects. So far, the main focus of research in this area was on killing cells – especially cancer cells. This project aims at an even more ambitious target – we want to translate our recent developments in anti-cancer PDT to kill bacteria. Why is it such a challenge? Because bacteria invade the cells, and one must kill bacteria, but not the host cell. 

We will focus in particular on the bacterium Prophyromonas gingivalis, which is responsible for periodontal disease.It has been shown that when this bacterium invades host cells, it is resistant to both therapeutic agents and the immune response. We believe that one alternative to overcome resistance is antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) which uses small-molecule light-activated drugs and targeted light applied directly to the gums to activate the drug. 

The Team

Management Team

Microbiology

Immunology

Clinicians

Allied Disciplines

PhD students

MSc students

Former Members
​and Alumni

Picture
Picture
The University of Sheffield 
Western Bank 
Sheffield, South Yorkshire 
S10 2TN 

United Kingdom
The University of Sheffield | Research | Collaborate | Team | Jobs | Cookies policy | Privacy
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.

BACK TO TOP

© 2015 The University of Sheffield

© DivTag Templates Ltd | All Rights Reserved