Mutant Ferrochelatase
- Detailed Technology Description
- None
- *Abstract
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Researchers at the University of South Florida have developed novel chelatases, which have enchanced metal chelatase activities than those of the natural enzyme, ferrochelatase (FECH). Our inventors have also devised new methods for the production of chelatase variants by directed evolution. These methods of invention can be used to produce variants of mammalian chelatase proteins suchas human FECHs and murine FECHs.Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is used for diagnosis of and therapy for malignancies, since tumor cells accumulate protoporphyrin IX and thus serve as natural targets for these procedures. Our inventors have used a direct evolution-based experimental approach to design ferrochelatase with enhanced, different andpreferential substrate-specificities over those of ferrochelatase. Potentially such evolved chelatase variants could be specifically targeted to tumor cells where in-situ produced metalated porphyrin would be excited with radiation of appropriate wavelength resulting in destruction of the cancer cells.Our technology has direct applications in the field of cancer treatment as well as applications in the field of material science.
- Country/Region
- USA
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