abstract
Until the second half of the twentieth century, carbon monoxide (CO) was known only as a toxic gas. In recent decades the identification of its production in the human body and its participation in some physiological and pathological processes have opened prospects for the use of CO as a drug in a wide range of disorders. However, it is hard to circumvent the limitations associated with the administration of this toxic gas by inhalation, which triggered the search for molecules able to distribute CO to the tissues of a living organism in a controlled and therapeutic way. One strategy to overcome this problem encompasses through the development of CO releasing molecules (CORMs). Analysing in detail the existing literature we found that metal-carbonyl complexes are the most promising class of CORMs; however, they have some drawbacks with respect to their therapeutic use. In this thesis, encapsulation methods were studied with the aim of minimizing some of these adverse effects. The complex Mo(CO)3(CNCH2CO2H)3 (ALF795) was synthesized and characterized, and intercalated in a Zn-Al layered double hydroxide. For the qualitative analysis of the rate of CO liberation from the complex ALF795 and the hybrid material, some assays were performed involving oximetry measurements after incubation of samples with whole sheep blood in Alserver's solution at either room temperature or 37 °C.
authors
Clara Isabel Ribeiro Magalhães
our authors
supervisors
Isabel Maria de Sousa Gonçalves, Martyn Pillinger
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