Biodistribution, pharmacokinetic, and in-vivo fluorescence spectroscopic studies of photosensitizers

Some key data concerning the pharmacokinetics of PCT photosensitizers are reviewed. The following topics are discussed: The binding of photosensitizers to serum proteins, and the significance of LDL binding for tumor localization, the distribution of sensitizers among different tissue compartments and the significance of extracellular proteins and other stromal elements, such as macrophages, low tumor pH, leaky vasculature and poor lymphatic drainage for tumor selectivity of drugs, the retention and excretion of sensitizers, and intracellular pharmacokinetics. Furthermore, the usefulness of fluorescence measurements in the study of sensitizer pharmacokinetics is briefly discussed. A key observation is that 1O2 has a short radius of action. Since practically all PCT sensitizers act via the 1O2 pathway, only targets with significant sensitizer concentrations can be damaged. A given number of 1O2 entities generated in different organelles (mitochondria, lysosomes, plasma membrane, etc.) may lead to widely different effects with respect to cell inactivation. Similarly, sensitizers localizing in different compartments of tissues may have different photosensitizing efficiencies even under conditions of a similar 1O2 yield.