Physics of photodynamic therapy

Document Type

Book Section

Publication Date

1-1-2016

Publication Title

Biomedical Optics in Otorhinolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery

Publisher

Springer New York

First page number:

287

Last page number:

309

Abstract

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) uses light-activated drugs (photosensitizers) for the treatment of neoplastic and non-neoplastic diseases. Administration of the photosensitizer constitutes the first step in the PDT process. Then, following a waiting period (minutes to days) to allow for selective accumulation in the target tissue, the sensitizer is activated via light (usually from a laser) of a wavelength matching a prominent absorption resonance in the red or near-infrared part of the visible spectrum. Absorption of this light by the photosensitizer results in photochemical processes which ultimately produce the cytotoxic species (e.g., singlet molecular oxygen) responsible for the biological damage. © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Diffusion approximation; Monte Carlo simulation; PDT dosimetry; Photodynamic therapy; Radiation transport

Language

English

UNLV article access

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