Inventors:
Richard Rox Anderson - Boston MA, US
Bernhard Ortel - Boston MA, US
Eliot F. Battle - Washington DC, US
Edwin K. Joe - New York NY, US
Assignee:
The General Hospital Corporation - Boston MA
International Classification:
A61B 8/00, A01N 43/38, A01N 37/12, A01N 37/44, A61K 31/195, C07B 47/00, C07D 487/22, C07C 229/00, A61N 5/02, A61N 1/39
US Classification:
514410, 514561, 514859, 514863, 540145, 562567, 424 961, 600 2, 607 1
Abstract:
Methods for preventing damage to the epidermis during PDT induced using a pre-photosensitizing agent are provided. The methods of the present invention utilize spatial confinement to control formation of a photoactive species from a topically-applied pre-photosensitizing agent. In one embodiment, thermal inhibition is used to prevent the metabolism of a pre-photosensitizing agent in epithelial tissue surrounding a treatment site. In another embodiment, a chemical inhibitor can be applied to the epithelial tissue to inhibit the conversion of a pre-photosensitizing agent into a phototoxic species.