Validation and Application of a Model of Oxygen Consumption and Diffusion During Photodynamic Therapy In Vitro

Abstract The photophysical parameters for the photosensitizer Pd(II) meso‐Tetra(4‐carboxyphenyl) porphine (PdT790) acquired in a previous study were incorporated into the PDT oxygen diffusion models for cell suspensions and cell monolayers. The time‐dependent phosphorescence signals generated by the diffusion models are shown to match signals previously measured by M.A.W. and M.S.P. when reasonable physical and photophysical parameters are used. Simulations were performed to investigate the effects of metabolic and photodynamic oxygen consumption rates on the PDT dose in each of the treatment geometries. It was found that in cell suspensions of <1 million cells per mL, PDT should not be inhibited by hypoxia if the photodynamic consumption rate is <1 m m s −1 . For cell monolayers the optimal photodynamic oxygen consumption rate was found to depend on the metabolic rate of oxygen consumption. If cells remained well oxygenated in the absence of PDT, then maximum PDT dose was delivered with the lowest practical photodynamic oxygen consumption rate. Simulations of PDT treatments for multicell tumor spheroids showed that large anoxic cores develop within the spheroids and, as a consequence, less PDT dose is delivered in comparison with similar treatments in cell suspensions and cell monolayers.