Photothermal sensitizers: possible use in tumor therapy.

Photothermal damage of tissues or endotissular compartments may be induced by pulsed irradiation of either endogenous chromophores (e.g. hemoglobin, melanin) or externally added dyes; the latter should have short triplet lifetimes and mainly decay from electronically excited states by nonradiative pathways. Potential photothermal sensitizers are some metallo derivatives of porphyrins and porphyrinoid compounds, azo dyes and triphenylmethane derivatives. These dyes have the additional property of significant absorbance at wavelengths longer than 600 nm, which can penetrate deep into biological tissues. Spatial confinement of the photothermal process depends on the absorption coefficient of the photoexcited chromophore and its thermal relaxation time. Present evidence indicates that the selective photothermal damage of macromolecules or subcellular organelles requires pulsed excitation at picosecond or nanosecond regimes, while microsecond or millisecond domains are effective in the case of cells or similar structures. The possible use of photothermal sensitization in the treatment of tumors is briefly discussed.