Measurements Of Singlet Oxygen In Photodynamic Therapy

Photochemical reactions are used in photodynamic therapy of cancer and other disease. The cytotoxic agent in photochemotherapy is usually singlet oxygen. Thus measurements of singlet oxygen production or concentration may allow prediction of the biological response. The decrease in fluorescence of L-tryptophan because of reaction with singlet oxygen, the decrease in absorbance of a dye such as RNO subject to secondary oxidation by singlet oxygen, and the decrease in fluorescence of the most common photosensitizer, dihematoporphyrin ether/ester (DHE) because of photobleaching, have been investigated in solutions in vitro. The most promising method for dosimetry and prediction of biological response appears to be the photobleaching of DHE.