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

Day 6 - A photodynamic solution to antimicrobial resistance

11/3/2020

2 Comments

 
Picture
​Antibiotic resistance is on the rise and is projected to kill over 10 million people per year by 2050. Therefore the need to find a successor to antibiotics has become urgent.

I have always been interested by the interaction of light with matter. Appropriately, my chosen PhD project is Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy (PDT). PDT is the use of a light activated molecule to cure a disease. Using unconventional synthetic techniques I have managed to synthesis a novel antimicrobial PDT agent based on a metal complex. I've used this chemical to kill infectous bacteria called P.gingivalis and MRSA, reducing their numbers by 3 orders of magnitude even at a very low concentration of 5 nM. Furthermore, this complex is able to target bacteria internalised in human cells, which conventional antibiotics are unable to do. I look forward to finishing this work and seeing what these compounds can do to help patients in the future.

Picture
Isuru Muthukdaarachchi outside the Royal Society of Chemistry
​
Picture
​I originally moved to the UK from Sri Lanka in 2011 to pursue a degree in Chemistry. In Sri Lanka a prominent place is given to medicine and engineering while research subjects such as chemistry and physics are not heavily practiced. So I was in awe of the resources British universities poured into scientific research.
​
​I feel very privileged to have access to virtually limitless equipment and chemicals on demand in order to carry out my research to its full potential. Upon completion of my PhD I intend to continue working on antimicrobial PDT, using every resource at my disposal, expanding into antiviral PDT with special focus on dengue fever, which affects a large population of Sri Lankans yearly. I will also focus greatly on combining photochemical and biomimetic techniques to synthesise novel fuels in order to store energy harvested from the sun to combat global warming and help make the world green once more.
​

2 Comments
shareit.onl link
4/11/2022 03:40:53 pm

hanks for sharing the article, and more importantly, your personal experience of mindfully using our emotions as data about our inner state and knowing when it’s better to de-escalate by taking a time out are great tools. Appreciate you reading and sharing your story since I can certainly relate and I think others can to

Reply
mxplayer.pro link
4/11/2022 04:58:53 pm

r sharing the article, and more importantly, your personal experience of mindfully using our emotions as data about our inner state and knowing when it’s better to de-escalate by taking a time out are great tools. Appreciate you reading and sharing your story since I can certainly relate and I think others can to

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    News Feed
    Upcoming Events
    Past Events
    ​
    Picture

    News + Events Archives

    April 2021
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    June 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018

    2017 - 2015

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