Formation of protoporphyrin IX in mouse skin after topical application of 5-aminolevulinic acid and its methyl esther

Normal skin of nude mice (Balb/c) was treated topically with 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and its methyl ester (ALA-Me) for 24 hours. Approximately 0.1 gram of freshly prepared cream was applied to a spot of 1 cm2 on the flank of the mice, which was then covered with a transparent dressing. The ALA induced protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) was studied by means of a noninvasive fiber-optic fluorescence probe connected to a luminescence spectrometer. The excitation wavelength was 407 nm, and the emission wavelength was 637 nm. For the first hour a slight lag in PpIX production was observed for the mice treated with ALA-Me compared to the mice treated with ALA. After approximately 12 hours the ALA and the ALA-Me treated mice showed the same PpIX fluorescence intensity. From 12 hours until 24 hours the PpIX fluorescence intensity decreased for both treatment modalities, even though ALA and ALA-Me were continuously present. At 24 hours ALA-Me-treated mice had less than half the amount of PpIX in their skin compared with ALA- treated mice.