Tumour photosensitizers: approaches to enhance the selectivity and efficiency of photodynamic therapy

While Photofrin, the photosensitizer currently in clinical use for photodynamic therapy (PDT) of tumours, has been shown to be both efficacious and safe in the treatment of a variety of human cancers, its chemical heterogeneity and low absorbance in the phototherapeutically useful wavelength range (600-850 nm) make the development of new photosensitizers with improved characteristics desirable. A suitable manipulation of the molecular structure...