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Photosensitizers

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Photodynamic Therapy in Veterinary Medicine: From Basics to Clinical Practice

Abstract

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) was discovered over 100 years ago when it was observed that certain dyes could kill microorganisms when exposed to light in the presence of oxygen. Since those early days, PDT has mainly been developed as a cancer therapy with regulatory approvals and clinical trials steadily accumulating for different types of cancer and different photosensitizer structures. A very important milestone for PDT was the introduction of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), which functions as a prodrug to induce endogenous porphyrin biosynthesis that acts as an endogenous photosensitizer produced by our cells. PDT with ALA and its derivatives have become mainstays of the clinical dermatologist’s practice covering everything from skin cancer, premalignant lesions, acne, and skin rejuvenation. Another milestone in PDT development was the realization that PDT may also be used as an effective antimicrobial modality and a potential treatment for localized infections. To some extent, this means that PDT has gone full circle and returned to its roots from when it was first discovered in 1900. In this chapter we discuss, in a contextualized fashion, what are the expected characteristics of an ideal photosensitizer and which are the main molecular frameworks used for development of synthetic, natural, and nanostructured photosensitizers.

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Acknowledgments

MR Hamblin was supported by US NIH grant R01AI050875.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 50 Blossom Street, Bartlett Hall, Room 414, Boston, MA, USA

    Michael Richard Hamblin

  2. Department of Dermatology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Michael Richard Hamblin

  3. Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Michael Richard Hamblin

  4. Department of Microbiology, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, Av. Lineu Prestes 1347, Cidade Universitária, Sao Paulo, 05508-000, SP, Brazil

    Caetano Padial Sabino

  5. Department of Clinical Analysis, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil

    Caetano Padial Sabino

  6. Center for Lasers and Applications, Nuclear and Energy Research Institute, National Commission for Nuclear Energy, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Caetano Padial Sabino

  7. Department of Medical Biophysics, Princess Margaret Cancer Institute/University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Caetano Padial Sabino

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  1. Michael Richard Hamblin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael Richard Hamblin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of São Paulo, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Butantã, São Paulo, Brazil

    Fábio Parra Sellera

  2. Santos Aquarium, Veterinary Unit of Santos Aquarium, Ponta da Praia, Santos, São Paulo, Brazil

    Cristiane Lassálvia Nascimento

  3. IPEN-CNEN/SP, Center for Lasers and Applications, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Martha Simões Ribeiro

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Hamblin, M.R., Sabino, C.P. (2016). Photosensitizers. In: Sellera, F., Nascimento, C., Ribeiro, M. (eds) Photodynamic Therapy in Veterinary Medicine: From Basics to Clinical Practice. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45007-0_3

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