Mauricio Baptista

Innovation corner by Mauricio Baptista

It is never too late to remind that the I in CEPID (or RIDC, in English) stands for Innovation. And the innovation has been on the rise in our Center. In fact, redox biochemistry and biology is involved in many signaling networks affecting, among other processes, homeostasis, proliferation, survival and death of cells. This brings an array of relevant basic science questions, which are closely tied to a myriad of possibilities to develop new products and new applications for chemical, cosmetic, medical and pharmaceutical industries. Indeed, CEPID team is developing several technological projects with public and private industries. Here we mention a few. In terms of the medical and pharmaceutical sectors, it is worth mentioning the development of novel drugs, including antimicrobial and anti-cancer compounds based in inorganic complexes. The use of light to treat the diabetic foot by photodynamic therapy (PDT) allowed the development of a platform of services, avoiding amputations of hundreds of patients (free-of-charge) and attracting companies working in the photonics field, including Ethik Technology and BioLambad, which are implementing their innovation strategy in partnership with RIDC Redoxoma. A larger clinical study is being designed in order to allow upscaling of possible applications and target patients. Another important health-related knowledge revealed by the Redoxoma team is the concept that visible light can damage skin and hair. As a consequence, we are developing the concept of natural pigments in sun-protection, which can decrease visible-light penetration in the skin without causing a perceived change in skin color. This line of investigation has allowed the development of joint innovation projects with several companies, including FarmaService Bioextract, Chemyunion, Johnson&Johnson and BASF. Green-chemistry catalyst is another area that has allowed transfer of technology to foster industry innovation. CEPID team developed a redox catalyst capable of performing purification of industrial wastes by Advanced Oxidation Processes. This process and the constructed reactor are being used to purify and recycle contaminated water from a petrochemical industry. Details of these results and efforts are described at our Redoxoma web page.

CEPID Redoxoma - Intellectual Property Rights

CEPID Redoxoma - Technology Transfer Developments

Mauricio da S. Baptista (bapt-I-am-here-ista@@hotmail.comiq.usp.br),
Ph.D. Professor at Department of Biochemistry,
Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo, Brazil

Membrane permeabilization by light involves contact between photosensitizer and the lipid double bond, yielding membrane-disrupting aldehydes

Redoxoma Highlights by Mauricio da S. Baptista

Light is fundamental for life, making feasible processes such as photosynthesis, and vision. Photodynamic therapy is a clinical modality able to treat a variety of diseases with light. However, light it is also responsible for spoiling foods and for the development of skin cancer, due to photosensitization reactions, in which molecules transform light energy into chemical reactivity, very frequently causing oxidations. Our group has accumulated evidence that membranes are key targets of the photo-induced reactions. The general mechanisms of lipid photo-oxidation have been known for a long time, but oxidation by singlet oxygen, which is a diffusing molecule, does not suffice to explain the known fact that photosensitizers that bind to membranes are more effective in making them permeable and therefore in destroying cells. We designed experiments to measure efficiency of membrane leakage by photosensitizers delivering almost the same amount of singlet oxygen to the membranes, but having a significant difference in the extent of the direct physical contact with lipid double bonds. We also identified and quantified all products generated by photosensitizers, such as hydroperoxides, alcohols, ketones and phospholipid aldehydes. We found that there always is significant accumulation of truncated lipid aldehydes in leaking membranes. Another important result was that permeabilization of membranes was invariably coupled to photobleaching, i.e., the photosensitizer gets degraded. Therefore, if one wants to have a more effective photosensitizer, we have to find new ways to regenerate it. Also, as a strategy for developing more efficient sunscreens, we need to create a way to prevent aldehydes from building up. This study was carried out as a doctoral project of Isabel Bacellar, the first author of the article, and involved the collaboration of CEPID researchers Redoxoma Paolo Di Mascio and Sayuri Miyamoto. Ronei Miotto and Rodrigo Maghdissian Cordeiro (Federal University of ABC), Professor Gonzalo Cosa (McGill University, Canada) and Professor Mark Wainwright (Liverpool John Moores University, UK) also participated in the study.

Related article:

• I. O. L. Bacellar, M. C. Oliveira, L. S. Dantas, E. B. Costa, H. C. Junqueira, W. K. Martins, A. M. Durantini, G. Cosa, P. D. Mascio, M. Wainwright, R. Miotto, R. M. Cordeiro, S. Miyamoto, M. S. Baptista. Photosensitized Membrane Permeabilization Requires Contact-Dependent Reactions between Photosensitizer and Lipids Journal of the American Chemical Society, 140(30): 9606-15, 2018 | doi: 10.1021/jacs.8b05014

Mauricio da S. Baptista, PhD. Professor at Department of Biochemistry,
Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo, Brazil

Post image credits
By Masohe, under CC BY-SA 4.0 license