Research Questions/Hypotheses
i) Photoantifungal compounds linked to an azole moiety will induce a local fungicidal effect (due to spatial activation by light) and a systemic fungistatic effect against resistant Candida spp. strains. (ii) Photoantifungals based on AQ-like structures are highly efficient against multidrug-resistant (MDR) Candida spp. and do not induce resistance. (iii) Synthetic modifications of azoles can be guided by modeling studies and enzyme kinetic study of PhDc-9.
Approach/Methods
To achieve the goal of new light-enhanced azoles, the project has been divided into three sub-projects: (i) testing natural and synthetic anthraquinones for their photoantifungal activity, (ii) molecular modelling studies will be performed on the known target CYP51, and (iii) synthetization of azole anthraquinone-conjugates and their biological evalutation.
