Which drug is approved by FDA as a photosensitizer?

Porfimer sodium (Photofrin) is a very widely used and studied photosensitizer. It’s activated by red light from a laser. It’s approved by the FDA to treat patients with certain kinds of cancers of the esophagus and lung, and is being studies in other types of cancer.

What is a photosensitizer drug?

Photosensitizing agents are drugs that can make the skin more sensitive to UV radiation. Drug-induced phototoxic reactions generally present as unexpected sunburns or dermatitis on sun-exposed areas of the skin.

What are photodynamic agents?

Background: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is photo-treatment of malignant or benign diseases using photosensitizing agents, light, and oxygen which generates cytotoxic reactive oxygens and induces tumour regressions.

When was photofrin approved?

Approval Date: 08/01/2003.

Is PDT good for wrinkles?

Treatment is particularly effective for improvement of fine wrinkles, skin roughness, actinic elastosis and mottled hyperpigmentation. The most widely studied topical sensitizers used in PDT are 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and methyl aminolevulinate (MAL).

What devices can be used with photodynamic therapy?

What devices are used to treat this condition? Almost any laser with the appropriate wavelength of light can be used for PDT.

What is photodynamic rejuvenation?

PhotoDynamic Rejuvenation, also referred to as Photorejuvenation, PhotoDynamic Therapy or PDT, is a process which obliterates abnormal cell tissue by use of a special topical solution called Levulan (or ALA) that is activated by a light such as the DUSA BLU Light, IPL Fotofacial or laser.

What is Photofrin used for?

PHOTOFRIN® is indicated for the treatment of microinvasive endobronchial non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients for whom surgery and radiation therapy, a process that uses certain energy waves to kill cancer cells, are not indicated.

What is porfimer used to treat?

Porfimer sodium is used to treat a certain type of bladder cancer, cancer of the esophagus (the tube that carries food from the throat to the stomach), endobronchial cancer (the tubes that go to the lungs), and Barrett’s esophagus (a disorder of the lining of the esophagus).

Why are photosensitizers added to polymers?

Photosensitizers can induce the generation of singlet oxygen (1O2) under light irradiation. It is known that 1O2 is very reactive and can function as a strong oxidant. Most of the reported photosensitizers are small conjugated molecules,1 whereas polymeric analogs are rarely explored.