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. 1999 May 1;80(3-4):344–351. doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6690361

Transient absorption changes in vivo during photodynamic therapy with pulsed-laser light

B W Pogue 1, T Momma 1, H C Wu 2, T Hasan 1
PMCID: PMC2362345  PMID: 10408836

Abstract

High intensity pulsed-laser light can be used to excite absorbing molecules to transient states in large proportions. The laser-induced spectral changes can be characterized by transient changes in light propagation; through the tissue provided the excited states of these molecules have altered absorption spectra. Characterization of these transient changes may then be used to exploit new mechanisms in photosensitization and/or to optimize photobiological effects. In this study, transmittance and reflectance were measured as a function of laser pulse energy, from tissue-simulating media as well as in rat muscle and liver slices, both with and without the photosensitizer benzoporphyrin derivative monoacid (BPD-MA) present. There was a transient decrease in absorption from the photosensitizer at peak pulse irradiance in the range of 100–1000 W cm–2. The depth of photodynamic treatment-induced tissue necrosis was measured in a subcutaneous prostate cancer model in Copenhagen rats. A comparison between continuous wave irradiation and pulsed irradiation with the same average incident irradiance showed no statistically significant difference in the depth of necrosis at 48 h after irradiation. These results indicate that photosensitizer population-state changes are measurable in tissues and may provide a method for measuring triplet-state properties of photosensitizer in vivo, but for BPD-MA at clinically used concentrations these changes do not significantly affect the depth of photodynamically-induced tissue damage. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaign

Keywords: photosensitizer, BPD-MA, pulsed-laser, optical dosimetry, tumour

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Selected References

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