Highly Effective Chemotherapy Enabled by LA-ICP-MS: In Situ Tracing and Bioimaging of Organometallic Agents

Palestrante:  Profa. Dra. Michaela Vašinová Galiová – Institute of Chemistry and Technology of Environmental Protection, Faculty of Chemistry, Brno, Czech Republic

Abstract: The generic term ‘cancer’ represents a diverse group of diseases characterised by uncontrollable and abnormal cell growth in any tissue or organ of the body. To date, over 100 forms of the disease have been identified, with approximately 19 million new cases diagnosed worldwide in 2020. Medical treatment generally involves the use of platinum-based anticancer agents. However, cisplatin and other platinum-based derivatives often have side effects relating to Pt toxicity and are less effective due to the acquired chemoresistance of tumour cells (1, 2). Efforts to improve drug efficiency are linked to the synthesis of metal-based compounds that replace platinum with other metals and incorporate specifically designed ligands. In this context, metallocene derivatives containing various metals (Fe, Ti, V, Zr, Ru, Os, Ir etc.) have been tested (3–5). Current research efforts are increasingly directed toward developing targeted therapies that reduce tumour viability or metastatic potential. Among the actively investigated molecular targets are galectins (6). Galectins are multifunctional proteins with complex roles in various pathologies. Their dysregulation is implicated in numerous diseases, particularly cancer and fibrosis. Among them, galectin-1 (Gal-1) and galectin-3 (Gal-3) stand out for their consistently strong protumoral activity. (7). Our research focuses on the tracking and two-dimensional imaging of newly synthesised cytotoxic Ru-tetrazene complexes and novel organometallic Gal-1 inhibitors, using the laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). The laser beam introduction system (LA) is an attractive sampling strategy for ablating extremely low masses, down to picograms, with high spatial resolution at the cellular level. Furthermore, when combined with high-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), this method becomes an effective tool for ultra-trace multielement analysis in the biomedical sciences. This lecture will demonstrate the potential of the LA-ICP-MS method for single-cell analysis, with the aim of determining the effectiveness of tested substances, studying kinetic mechanisms and clarifying chemoresistance in cancer cell lines. In addition to in vitro experiments, the lecture will also cover in vivo experiments.

Michaela Vašinová Galiová: 2024 – present Head of Laboratory of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry (Analytical and environmental chemistry – FCH BUT); 2022 – present Vice-dean of Bachelor’s and Master’s study programmes, FCH BUT;2019 – present Associate Professor, Institute of Chemistry and Technology of Environmental Protection, FCH BUT; 2017–2020 Technician (part-time job), CEITEC, BUT;2018–2020 Academic Scientific researcher (part-time job), Department of Geology and Pedology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, MENDELU 2017–2018 Maternity leave; 2015–2017 Specialist, CEITEC and Department of Chemistry and Department of Geological Sciences,Faculty of Science, MU; 2014–2015 Doctor assistant (postdoc), Pegasus Marie Curie fellowship, FWO, Department of Analytical chemistry, Ghent University, Atomic and Mass Spectrometry (prof. F. Vanhaecke) Ghent, Belgium;2009–2014 Specialist, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, MU; 2007–2010 Technician (part-time job), Institute of Physical Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, BUT.

Professor Responsável: Marco Aurélio Zezzi Arruda