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Hypericin: A New Laser Phototargeting Agent for Human Cancer Cells
Author(s) -
VanderWerf Quinten M.,
Saxton Romaine E.,
Chang Andrew,
Horton Dennis,
Paiva Marcos B.,
Anderson Jamey,
Foote Christopher,
Soudant Jacques,
Mathey Annick,
Castro Dan J.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1097/00005537-199604000-00016
Subject(s) - hypericin , photoablation , photodynamic therapy , viability assay , cancer cell , cancer research , medicine , cytotoxicity , cancer , in vitro , laser , chemistry , pharmacology , excimer laser , biochemistry , optics , physics , organic chemistry
Laser activation of anthracycline‐related drugs combines chemotherapy with photoablation for improved treatment. Hypericin, a structurally related anthraquinone, was tested for laser activation and cytotoxicity in human cancer cells. Viability of P3 squamous cell carcinoma cells incubated with 1 to 20μg/mL hypericin was reduced by more than 95% after 1 minute exposure at 4°C to an argon laser (514 nm, 5 W), a KTP‐532 laser (532 nm, 5 W), or a 20‐A xenon lamp. Viability was reduced over 90% in six human carcinoma, sarcoma, and melanoma cell lines by this combined treatment, but only trace toxicity was seen after separate exposure to hypericin or light alone. These results show that hypericin is a sensitive agent for phototherapy of human cancer cells in vitro and indicate that this drug may be useful for tumor targeting via minimally invasive imaging‐guided laser fiberoptics.