Project description
A new light-driven cancer treatment
Cancer treatment increasingly exploits light to achieve precise therapeutic effects, but current approaches face significant limitations. Photodynamic therapy relies on oxygen to generate reactive species, reducing efficacy in hypoxic tumours, while photoactivated chemotherapy lacks catalytic activity. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the RedLips project introduces a new light-activated treatment that works independently of oxygen and natural cellular processes. Using molecules called porphyrins activated by harmless red light, researchers will generate powerful cancer-killing agents directly at the tumour site. Seeking to create a more precise cancer treatment, these molecules will be delivered using liposomes for improved stability and effectiveness.
Objective
Light-activated strategies have transformed medicine, yet current approaches face major limitations. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) depends on oxygen to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), restricting efficacy in hypoxic tumors. Photoactivated chemotherapy (PACT) releases active drugs upon irradiation but is non-catalytic, preventing sustained reactivity. A promising alternative is bioorthogonal photocatalysis, where light-driven catalysts perform specific, non-natural transformations catalytically in biological systems.
Using porphyrins, widely implemented in PDT, we will repurpose them as photocatalysts for the first catalytic strategy to generate therapeutic alkyl radicals in situ, highly cytotoxic species already shown to be effective against cancer but so far limited to prodrugs requiring enzymatic cleavage. Because enzyme activity varies and is often low in tumors, this strategy lacks robustness. By contrast, red-light activated porphyrins can trigger radical formation independently of enzymes, offering a powerful, catlytic, oxygen-independent therapeutic pathway. Red-light-absorbing porphyrins are particularly suited for biological use, operating via single electron transfer (SET) under mild conditions and activating precursors such as Hantzsch esters and Katritzky salts, already validated for their biocompatibility.
To overcome solubility and stability challenges, we will pioneer RedLips: red-light-activated photocatalytic liposomes. Liposomes, clinically proven nanocarriers, can encapsulate or embed porphyrins while maintaining catalytic activity, enabling radical formation directly in aqueous and cellular environments. RedLips thus represent the first catalytic nanoplatform designed to produce alkyl radicals beyond ROS in situ, with spatial and temporal control. This project pioneers a new therapeutic paradigm: catalytic, oxygen-independent radical nanotherapy, pushing light-driven cancer treatment beyond the current state of the art.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis photocatalysis
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
08007 Barcelona
Spain
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