J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 261, Issue 26, 12098-12101, 09, 1986
The two-photon laser-induced fluorescence of the tumor-localizing photosensitizer hematoporphyrin derivative. Resonance-enhanced 750 nm two-photon excitation into the near-UV Soret band
RS Bodaness, DF Heller, J Krasinski and DS King
The tumor-localizing photosensitizer hematoporphyrin derivative (HPD) is
shown to undergo a simultaneous two-photon excitation into the near-
ultraviolet Soret band system upon intense laser irradiation at 750 nm, a
spectral region where there is no significant HPD one-photon absorbance in
aqueous solution. Subsequent to this excitation, internal conversion and
vibrational relaxation occur, resulting in the population of the
vibrationless level of the first electronically excited singlet state. This
state relaxes by two channels, the emission of fluorescence in the spectral
region 600-700 nm and intersystem crossing into the triplet manifold,
followed by near-resonant electronic energy transfer with surrounding
oxygen to result in the generation of highly reactive singlet molecular
oxygen (1 delta g). Evidence for the two-photon excitation consists in the
observation both of the HPD fluorescence spectrum in the region of 615 nm
as a result of 750 nm excitation and the quadratic dependence of this
fluorescence emission intensity upon the excitation laser intensity. Since,
in general, the penetration depth of ultraviolet and visible light into
tissue varies directly with wavelength (red penetrating more deeply than
blue), these studies suggest the possibility that two-photon- induced
localization of tumor-bound HPD might facilitate the detection of deeper
lying tumors than allowed by the current one-photon photolocalization
method.