New Mexico Highlands UniversityMorehouse College

Georgia Institute of TechnologyLight-Matter Interactions: Theory and Applications (LMITA)

PARTNERSHIP FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION IN MATERIALS NSF/DMR 0934212

The general goal of LMITA Thrust 1 to find efficient synthetic route to obtain E,E-3,5-bis(thienylidene)piperid-4-ones with donor substituents, that will be tested as materials for photodynamic therapy as photosensitizer.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) combines a drug (called a photosensitizer) with a specific type of light to kill cancer cells.

Undergraduate student Rachel Lucero and graduate student Evgenia Leonova working on the synthetic project under supervision of Professors Timofeeva and Martinez.

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A C

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Excitation Wavelength (nm)

Two Double Bonds

Graph demonstrating significant two-photon activity of synthesized molecules with a long chain of conjugation.