Pundlik, Raul Kusaji	 <br/><br/>
Turning an Antioxidant into a Prooxidant :   Light-induced Mitochondrial Apoptosis in Mammalian Cells by an Ergothioneine-based Neutral Small Molecule / 

 - Bangalore :  Indian Institute of Science,  2025 
 - viii, 201 p. :  col. ill. ;  e-Thesis  18.98 Mb 
<br/><br/> Includes references 
<br/><br/>PhD ; 2025 ; Inorganic and Physical Chemistry (IPC) 
<br/><br/> Mitochondria-targeted compounds gained significant interest due to their applications in fundamental research, diagnostics, and therapeutics. In this work, we present a detailed investigation of the ergothioneine-based mitochondria-targeted neutral molecule, which is an antioxidant in the dark and turns prooxidant in light inside mammalian cells. This molecule was designed using a fragment-based approach for simultaneous mitochondrial imaging and targeted antioxidant activity. However, it forms a charge-separated state within 10 picoseconds under visible light, leading to triplet-state formation upon charge recombination. Mitochondrial biomolecules first reduce this redox-active triplet state to its one-electron reduced form, which reduces molecular oxygen via one-electron transfer to form superoxide radicals selectively inside mitochondria. This leads to mitochondrial lipid peroxidation, increased mitochondrial membrane permeability transition pore formation, mitochondrial depolarization, and eventually, apoptotic cell death. 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Topical Terms: </label><br/>Mitochondria targeting	<br/>Mitochondria	<br/>Antioxidant<br/>Photoredox	<br/>Phototoxicity	<br/>Triplet state	<br/>Chemical Biology	
<br/><br/><label>Dewey Class. No.: </label>616.01816  / PUN