In photodynamic therapy (PDT), a tumor-selective photosensitizer is administered and then activated by exposure to a light source of applicable wavelength. Multidrug resistance (MDR) is largely caused by the efflux of therapeutics from the tumor cell by means of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), resulting in reduced efficacy of the anticancer therapy. This study deals with photodynamic therapy with Photof...

Furocoumarins (psoralens) are a well known group of substances which show interesting photo­ sensitizing properties on several biological sy­ stems 1_<; the best known of these effects in sensiti­ zation of human and guinea-pig skin 2; 4’ 8> 9, in the production of which the various furocoumarin deri­ vatives show very different activities. At present the photosensitizing effects of furo­ couma...

PURPOSE Verteporfin photodynamic therapy (PDT) is the most effective treatment for age-related macular degeneration, using laser activation of a photosensitizing dye to achieve closure of choroidal neovascularization. Although PDT preferentially affects pathologic vessels, it can also cause collateral damage to the overlying retina. In the current study, it was found that the neuroprotective ag...

In this study, surface-functionalized, branched polyethylenimine (BPEI)-modified YVO4:Bi(3+),Eu(3+) nanocrystals (NCs) were successfully synthesized by a simple, rapid, solvent-free hydrothermal method. The BPEI-coated YVO4:Bi(3+),Eu(3+) NCs with high crystallinity show broad-band excitation in the λ=250 to 400 nm near-ultraviolet (NUV) region and exhibit a sharp-line emission band centered at ...

Here we report a novel biomimetic gel that efficiently converts photoenergy and the water inside into H(2). By immobilizing a photosensitizer into the polymer network, the gel system involving an electronic transmission circuit generates H(2) with a high quantum efficiency of over 10%, significantly higher than the conventional solution system.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) - the fourth modality - has been successfully used in the management of early and advanced pathologies of the head and neck. We studied the effect of this modality on a giant solitary neurofibroma of the neck. A 70-year-old Caucasian female presented with left neck pain and disfigurement associated with slight shortness of breath and dysphagia. Examination revealed a ...

Apoptosis is a cellular death process involving the sequential activation of a series of caspases, endonucleases, and other enzymes. The initiation of apoptosis can be inhibited by overexpression of bcl-2 and certain other members of a related family of proteins. We examined the effects of bcl-2 overexpression on the apoptotic response to photodynamic therapy (PDT), using aluminum phthalocyanin...

As a treatment modality for malign and certain non-malignant diseases, photodynamic therapy (PDT) involves a two step protocol which consists of the (selective) uptake and accumulation of a photosensitizing agent in target cells and the subsequent irradiation with light in the visible range. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced during this process cause cellular damage and, depending on the t...