Doing a Research on Anticancer Substance, Fransiska Kurniawan Officially Holds Doctor’s Degree in Pharmacy
By Ahmad Fadil
Editor Ahmad Fadil
BANDUNG, itb.ac.id - Fransiska Kurniawan is an outstanding graduate from ITB’s School of Pharmacy. Together with other 73 Doctoral Program graduates, she graduated on Friday, 6/4/2018, at Sabuga. Her research to discover anticancer substance gives a new hope to cancer patients in Indonesia.
Cancer, the World’s Largest Cause of Death
Cancer is not infectious, but it is the largest cause of death in the world. It occurs because of the growth of anomaly cells/tissues caused by DNA mutation in cells and it potentially attacks or spreads to other parts of the body through lymphatic system and blood vessels.
According to a report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 2012, cancer-related deaths accounted for 8.2 million deaths. Statistics from Basic Health Research (RISKESDAS) in 2013 showed that the highest prevalence of cancer in Indonesia was in Yogyakarta (4.1 ‰), followed by Central Java (2.1 ‰) and Bali (2 ‰).
Porphyrin as Anticancer Substance
Cancer patients often have to undergo surgery, expose to radiation, and chemotherapy that cost rather high. Fransiska Kurniawan from Pharmacochemistry Expertise Group, School of Pharmacy (SF) of Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) conducted computational studies on synthetic compounds of porphyrin derivatives as anticancer substances and presented the study in a research entitled "In Silico Study, Synthesis, and Cytotoxic Activities of Porphyrin Derivatives as Anticancer and Radiopharmacy Kit Ligands".
Fransiska said that the background of her research topic relates to the field of study of Prof. Dr. Daryono H. Tjahjono as her promoter when participating in the Educational Scholarships for Master to Doctor Program for Excellence Scholars (PMDSU) in 2013, which is about the specialization of anticancer substances of porphyrin derivatives.
Porphyrin is an organic compound that composed of four pentagonal rings consisting of four carbon atoms with nitrogen atoms at one angle. Four nitrogen atoms in the middle of a porphyrin molecule can bind metal ions such as magnesium, iron, zinc, nickel, copper, and silver. Fransiska said that there are many porphyrin compounds, for example hemoglobin which is a porphyrin compound that binds to ferrous metal (Fe) and chlorophyll or green leaf compound which binds to magnesium metal (Mg).
The porphyrin compound has the ability to interact with DNA and has a higher affinity to cancer cells than to normal cells, hence it can identify the location of cancer cells. In her research, only the organic compounds are used for in silico (computation) study to create the model of porphyrin compounds structure.
By using computer, the obtained design of the porphyrin compound is then connected with cancer cell receptor before the initial screening process to discover the toxicity prediction. "This study is still in the early stages with in-vitro test in laboratory scale where cancer cells are grown in incubation media for 24 hours, and then exposed to porphyrin compounds that have been synthesized and have been counted for the number of cancer cells that died," said Fransiska.
Five cell samplings were used such as cervical cancer, colon cancer, liver cancer, breast cancer, and normal cells. From cytotoxicity test on IC50 calculation about the number of concentration of porphyrin compounds that should be exposed to kill 50% of the total cell, it is found that porphyrin compounds are effective to kill cancer cells because the amount of porphyrin compounds exposed to cancer cells is much less than normal cells.
From the results of cervical cancer (HeLa), colon cancer (WIDR), liver cancer (HepG2), breast cancer (T47D and MCF-7) and normal cells (Vero), it is found that TTP and TrTMNP are porphyryn derivatives which are highly potential as anticancer because these compounds are inactive with normal cells, but are cytotoxic with cancer cells.
Radiopharmacy Kit Ligands as Cancer Cure
For further development, porphyrin complexed with rhenium (Re) and technetium (Tc) can be used in radiopharmacy ligands to detect the location of cancer cells, which will be destroyed by radiomagnetic radiation that uses high-energy gamma and beta rays that can damage or even kill cancer cells.
In radiotherapy treatment, Porphyrin determines the exact location of cancer cells so that normal cells will not be exposed to radiation. Expose to radiation will also damage normal cells and that would be detrimental to human health.
Lack of Support for Researcher of Anticancer
Research generally takes a long time, and every research will always be encountered with difficulties. Fransiska mentioned how she had to be patient with the bureaucracy for the procurement of hazardous chemicals.
Fransiska admitted to conducting her research at three different places, ITB’s School of Pharmacy, Keio University in Japan and UGM’s (Universitas Gadjah Mada) Faculty of Medicine.
She conducted her research at ITB's School of Pharmacy to conduct computational modeling studies of porphyrin derivatives. She also conducted research at Keio University Japan for the synthesis of porphyrin because some of the materials used to carry out the synthesis contain halogens. This material was constrained by Indonesia’s Directorate General of Customs and Excise because it is classified as hazardous chemicals (B3). Fransiska also conducted her research at UGM’s Faculty of Medicine to test the toxicity of porphyrin resulted from synthesis of cancer cells.
Her research is supported by BATAN (National Nuclear Power Agency) and Dharmais Cancer Hospital in Jakarta. Hopefully, researches by experts in Pharmaceutical, such as Dr. Fransiska Kurniawan, can be useful for human survival in the world.
Reporter: Wanna Taf'al Husna (Fisika 2016)
Cancer is not infectious, but it is the largest cause of death in the world. It occurs because of the growth of anomaly cells/tissues caused by DNA mutation in cells and it potentially attacks or spreads to other parts of the body through lymphatic system and blood vessels.
According to a report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 2012, cancer-related deaths accounted for 8.2 million deaths. Statistics from Basic Health Research (RISKESDAS) in 2013 showed that the highest prevalence of cancer in Indonesia was in Yogyakarta (4.1 ‰), followed by Central Java (2.1 ‰) and Bali (2 ‰).
Porphyrin as Anticancer Substance
Cancer patients often have to undergo surgery, expose to radiation, and chemotherapy that cost rather high. Fransiska Kurniawan from Pharmacochemistry Expertise Group, School of Pharmacy (SF) of Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) conducted computational studies on synthetic compounds of porphyrin derivatives as anticancer substances and presented the study in a research entitled "In Silico Study, Synthesis, and Cytotoxic Activities of Porphyrin Derivatives as Anticancer and Radiopharmacy Kit Ligands".
Fransiska said that the background of her research topic relates to the field of study of Prof. Dr. Daryono H. Tjahjono as her promoter when participating in the Educational Scholarships for Master to Doctor Program for Excellence Scholars (PMDSU) in 2013, which is about the specialization of anticancer substances of porphyrin derivatives.
Porphyrin is an organic compound that composed of four pentagonal rings consisting of four carbon atoms with nitrogen atoms at one angle. Four nitrogen atoms in the middle of a porphyrin molecule can bind metal ions such as magnesium, iron, zinc, nickel, copper, and silver. Fransiska said that there are many porphyrin compounds, for example hemoglobin which is a porphyrin compound that binds to ferrous metal (Fe) and chlorophyll or green leaf compound which binds to magnesium metal (Mg).
The porphyrin compound has the ability to interact with DNA and has a higher affinity to cancer cells than to normal cells, hence it can identify the location of cancer cells. In her research, only the organic compounds are used for in silico (computation) study to create the model of porphyrin compounds structure.
By using computer, the obtained design of the porphyrin compound is then connected with cancer cell receptor before the initial screening process to discover the toxicity prediction. "This study is still in the early stages with in-vitro test in laboratory scale where cancer cells are grown in incubation media for 24 hours, and then exposed to porphyrin compounds that have been synthesized and have been counted for the number of cancer cells that died," said Fransiska.
Five cell samplings were used such as cervical cancer, colon cancer, liver cancer, breast cancer, and normal cells. From cytotoxicity test on IC50 calculation about the number of concentration of porphyrin compounds that should be exposed to kill 50% of the total cell, it is found that porphyrin compounds are effective to kill cancer cells because the amount of porphyrin compounds exposed to cancer cells is much less than normal cells.
From the results of cervical cancer (HeLa), colon cancer (WIDR), liver cancer (HepG2), breast cancer (T47D and MCF-7) and normal cells (Vero), it is found that TTP and TrTMNP are porphyryn derivatives which are highly potential as anticancer because these compounds are inactive with normal cells, but are cytotoxic with cancer cells.
Radiopharmacy Kit Ligands as Cancer Cure
For further development, porphyrin complexed with rhenium (Re) and technetium (Tc) can be used in radiopharmacy ligands to detect the location of cancer cells, which will be destroyed by radiomagnetic radiation that uses high-energy gamma and beta rays that can damage or even kill cancer cells.
In radiotherapy treatment, Porphyrin determines the exact location of cancer cells so that normal cells will not be exposed to radiation. Expose to radiation will also damage normal cells and that would be detrimental to human health.
Lack of Support for Researcher of Anticancer
Research generally takes a long time, and every research will always be encountered with difficulties. Fransiska mentioned how she had to be patient with the bureaucracy for the procurement of hazardous chemicals.
Fransiska admitted to conducting her research at three different places, ITB’s School of Pharmacy, Keio University in Japan and UGM’s (Universitas Gadjah Mada) Faculty of Medicine.
She conducted her research at ITB's School of Pharmacy to conduct computational modeling studies of porphyrin derivatives. She also conducted research at Keio University Japan for the synthesis of porphyrin because some of the materials used to carry out the synthesis contain halogens. This material was constrained by Indonesia’s Directorate General of Customs and Excise because it is classified as hazardous chemicals (B3). Fransiska also conducted her research at UGM’s Faculty of Medicine to test the toxicity of porphyrin resulted from synthesis of cancer cells.
Her research is supported by BATAN (National Nuclear Power Agency) and Dharmais Cancer Hospital in Jakarta. Hopefully, researches by experts in Pharmaceutical, such as Dr. Fransiska Kurniawan, can be useful for human survival in the world.
Reporter: Wanna Taf'al Husna (Fisika 2016)
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