Analysis of the Influence of Nanoparticles in Photodynamic Therapy Applied to Biological Tissues

Abstract

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) is a photo-optical treatment technique intended for malig- nant biological tissue destruction. An inoculated photosensitizer is optically irradiated and tumoral tissue is destroyed with great specificity, practically absent secondary effects and good aesthetic result. PDT is inefficient in thick tumoral tissues due mainly to the optical radiation and photo-sensitizer spatial distributions, and also to lesion-independent clinical protocols. In this work we analyse the use of different nanoparticles in PDT. Optical propagation, photosensitizer non-homogeneous spatial distribution and photochemical reactions are taken into account. A complex predictive model is used to estimate the treatment outcome and the influence of nanoparticles.