Speaker
Apply to be<br> considered for a student <br> award (Yes / No)?
Yes
Would you like to <br> submit a short paper <br> for the Conference <br> Proceedings (Yes / No)?
Yes
Abstract content <br> (Max 300 words)<br><a href="http://events.saip.org.za/getFile.py/access?resId=0&materialId=0&confId=34" target="_blank">Formatting &<br>Special chars</a>
Cancer is considered one of the scariest diseases that has severe impacts on health, social and economic global aspects. Nanomedicine is considered a new approach for cancer treatment. Certain types of cancer could be prevented as they are lifestyle dependent and caused by both external and internal factors. Despites numerous efforts, the condition remains a dominant health-threatening issue worldwide. In the United States, it is estimated that over 1.6 million new cases will be diagnosed and would result in 585,720 deaths in 2014. Breast cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers worldwide and is the leading cancer among South African women.
Among available treatments, Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a targeted and light induced therapy that depends upon successful localization and specific activation of a chemotherapeutic agent to induce cell death. Nanotechnology in cancer therapy provides interesting possibilities in detecting and eradicating tumors with minimal damage to health tissues. This study aimed to synthesize and characterize a conjugate made of Zinc-Phthalocyanine (ZnPc) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), to identify subcellular localization as well as effects of the conjugate prior to and post laser irradiation in a breast cancer cell line (MCF-7). This presentation will discuss the outcomes of the combined treatment on cell morphology, viability, proliferation and cytotoxicity.
Main supervisor (name and email)<br>and his / her institution
Heidi Abrahamse, habrahamse@uj.ac.za, Laser Research Centre, University of Johannesburg
Level for award<br> (Hons, MSc, <br> PhD, N/A)?
PhD
Please indicate whether<br>this abstract may be<br>published online<br>(Yes / No)
Yes
