Dr. Raphael de Paiva

Academic background: PhD in Inorganic Chemistry, University of Campinas, Brazil, 2017; MSc in Inorganic Chemistry, University of Campinas, Brazil, 2014; BSc in Chemistry, University of Campinas, Brazil, 2012.

Project Title: Click and Crosslink: A Click Chemistry Approach to Developing Gene-Targeted Platinum(II) Therapeutics

Project Description: By using small pieces of modified nucleic acids, scientists have discovered exciting new gene therapies that can treat human diseases such as cancer. This type of treatment can target either RNA or DNA and is known as antisense or antigene therapy. Current antigene therapies have limitations as they can be easily degraded in the human body, bind poorly with their targets, and cannot appropriately reach their intended targets to switch them off. This project will develop an exciting new class of gene therapy that will direct platinum drugs to specific cancer-causing genes. Their construction relies on a ground-breaking click chemistry approach that has the potential to improve the stability and genetic targeting effects of antigene therapies. The target molecules are composed of two elements: 1) a guide that recognises and binds sequence specifically with human genes of interest, and 2) a platinum(II) drug that will ‘harpoon’ or tightly bind with DNA at this specific point to silence its activity.

Funding body: IRC

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Raphael-De-Paiva

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaeldepaiva/