Correlation between Porcine and Human Skin Models by Optical Methods

Background: Topical photodynamic therapy (PDT) using 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and methyl aminolevulinate (MAL) as precursors of protoporphyrin IX (PPIX) have been used in skin cancer treatment and other skin diseases. To establish new topical PDT, protocols are necessary first to conduct studies in vivo using animal skin models. The goal of this study is to evaluate the robust correlation between porcine and human skin models in vivo by optical methods to confirm the suitability of porcine skin models to predict drug behavior in the human skin on topical PDT protocols. Methods: The study was performed in vivo using porcine and human skin models. In human skin, ALA and MAL cream mixture samples were applied to the inner arm in a circular area of 1 cm2. In porcine skin, the cream was applied on the back in an area of 4 cm2, over which an occlusive dressing was placed. PPIX production was monitored for up to 5 h using widefield fluorescence imaging and fluorescence spectroscopy techniques. Results: Human skin models showed similar behavior to porcine skin models, which indicates high similarity between both models and confirms that porcine skin is an adequate model to establish new clinical PDT protocols in human volunteers

Anatomically Adjustable Device for Large-Area Photodynamic Therapy

The illumination system composed of LEDs is an anatomically adjustable device of high intensity that can be applied in different areas of the body. It can be applied in health care, as in the dermatological and esthetic treatments. The device improved the treatment of pathological diseases (e.g. actinic keratosis) since disseminated lesions were reached in a single application, thus reducing the time of the procedure and ensuring homogeneous light distribution. It was compared with a smaller and non-adjustable illumination device and evaluated in the treatment of actinic keratosis. The results showed its versatile application and a uniform adjustment to body curvatures

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

\"Spectroscopics and cytotoxics studies of Photogem® photodegradate and of photoproducts formated by irradiation with laser\"

A Terapia Fotodinâmica (TFD) é uma técnica para induzir dano ao tecido tumoral e consiste na administração de uma droga fotossensível que pode ser seletivamente retida no tecido tumoral e que produz oxigênio singlete quando irradiada em comprimento de onda adequado na presença de oxigênio molecular. Fotossensibilizadores do tipo porfirinas podem ser degradados pela luz modificando a concentração do fotossensibilizador (FS) no tumor. Este processo chamado de fotodegradação caracteriza-se pela diminuição nas intensidades das bandas de absorbância e fluorescência e pode ser acompanhado pela formação de fotoprodutos. Neste estudo o FS usado foi Photogem®, um derivado de hematoporfirina produzido na Rússia e que está sendo usado em TFD no Brasil. A fotodegradação do sensibilizador e formação de fotoprodutos foi monitorada pelas mudanças nas propriedades de fluorescência e absorbância, assim como pela formação do fotoproduto evidenciado pelo aparecimento de uma nova banda em torno de 640nm em PBS e 660nm em soluções de Triton X-100 e Brij-35. A fotodegradação do Photogem® e a formação dos fotoprodutos foram induzidas pela irradiação com laser e LED em diferentes concentrações, comprimentos de ondas de irradiação (351, 488, 514 e 630nm), em diferentes intervalos de tempo e intensidades de irradiação. A citotoxicidade do Photogem® e seus fotoprodutos em células tumorais (HEp-2) e células normais (VERO) foram investigadas no escuro e no claro. Experimentos em animais foram realizados com o objetivo de verificar a profundidade de necrose causada por Photogem® e seus fotoprodutos. Os resultados sugerem que os fotoprodutos do Photogem® são menos citotóxicos tanto no claro como no escuro e esta citotoxicidade diminui com o aumento do tempo de irradiação prévia do Photogem® . Os fotoprodutos obtidos do Photogem® em 514nm precisam de 1 h de irradiação em ambas as linhagens celulares para ter a mesma citotoxicidade que Photogem® irradiado por 14 min em células tumorais e 25 min em células normais. Os resultados sugerem que diferentes processos ocorrem na degradação do FS quando em diferentes meios (PBS, surfactantes e solventes), em diferentes concentrações e condições de irradiação (comprimento de onda, potência, tempo). Em TFD, os sensibilizadores estão tipicamente presentes em altas concentrações nas células tumorais. Desta forma, a fotodegradação dos fotossensibilizadores em taxas apropriadas durante a iluminação em PDT, pode vir a diminuir a concentração destes fotossensibilizadores nos tecidos normais, levando a uma diminuição da fotossensibilidade e fototoxicidade (pele), enquanto quantidade suficiente de fotossensibilizador pode persistir nas células tumorais para posterior fotodestruição, resultando em menor dano para o tecido normal. Assim a fotodegradação do fotossensibilizador é o elo fundamental da distribuição da dose fotodinâmica nos fluidos biológicos, estando relacionado com a cinética de eliminação do fotossensibilizador do organismo. Para os dados obtidos in vivo para a profundidade de necrose em tecido de fígado de ratos do Photogem®?e seus fotoprodutos obtidos pela degradação em 514nm e em 630nm, observou-se que na dose de irradiação de 150J/cm2 em ambas as concentrações (1,5 and 2mg/Kg ), a profundidade de necrose é maior para Photogem seguida de Photogem® degradado previamente em 514 e 630nm. Na dose de irradiação de 200J/cm2 e na concentração de 2mg/Kg não existe diferença na profundidade de necrose para Photogem®?bem como para seus fotoprodutos, o que pode estar relacionado com a fototoxicidade dos fotoprodutos, que em altas concentrações e doses de irradiação, apresentam uma maior atividade fotodinâmica. Os resultados obtidos in vivo concordam com os obtidos in vitro, uma vez que nos experimentos citotóxicos, Photogem® irradiado mostrouse menos tóxico do que Photogem® não irradiado e nos experimentos em animais observou-se uma menor profundidade de necrose para Photogem® irradiado. Estes resultados podem ser úteis para o estabelecimento da dosimetria para Photogem® em Terapia Fotodinâmica.Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a technique for inducing tumor tissue damage following administration of a drug that can be selectively retained in malignant tissue and produce singlet oxygen when irradiated in adequate wavelengths in the presence of molecular oxygen. Photosensitizers of porphyrin type can be degraded by light (photobleaching), modifying the concentration ratio of the photosensitizer (PS) in the tumor vs. normal tissue. This process, usually called photobleaching, is characterized by a decrease in the absorption and fluorescence intensities. It has been shown that, during photobleaching, the formation of redshifted absorbing photoproducts takes place. In this study the PS used was Photogem®, a hematoporphyrin derivative produced in Russia and being used in PDT in Brazil. The sensitizer photobleaching and photoproduct formation was monitored by fluorescence and absorption properties changes as well as by the photoproducts formation evidenced by the appearance of a new absorption band around 640nm in PBS and in 660nm in Triton X-100 and Brij-35 solution. Photogem® photobleaching and photoproducts formation was induced by laser and LED irradiation in different concentrations, irradiation wavelengths (351, 488, 514 and 630nm), in different time intervals and intensities of irradiation. The cytotoxicity of Photogem® and its photoproducts in tumor (HEp-2) and non-tumor (VERO) cell lines were analyzed in the dark and in the light. Experiments in animals were performed in order to access the depth of necrosis caused by Photogem® and its photoproducts in rat liver tissue. The results suggest that the photoproducts of Photogem® are less cytotoxic than Photogem® either in the dark or in the light, and the cytotoxicity decreases with the previous irradiation time of Photogem®. The photoproducts of Photogem® obtained at 514nm need one-hour irradiation for both cell lines to have the same cytotoxicity of Photogem® irradiated for 14min in tumor cells and 25min in non-tumor cells. The results suggest that different processes occurs in the PS degradation when in different environments (PBS, surfactants and solvents), in different concentrations and irradiation conditions (wavelength, potency, time). In PDT, the sensitizers are typically present in high concentrations in tumor cells. At the same time, the degradation of photosensitizers in properly elevate rates during the illumination in PDT, can lead to a decrease in the concentrations of these photosensitizers in normal tissue, decreasing the photosensibility and phototoxicity (skin), while adequate amount of photosensitizer can be maintained in tumor cells for photodestruction, resulting in a small damage for normal tissue. Photodegradation of photosensitizers is the fundamental connection of photodynamic dose distribution in the biological fluids, being related with the kinetic of photosensitizer elimination in the organism. For the data obtained in vivo for depth of necrosis of Photogem® x vii and its photoproducts obtained by degradation in 514nm and in 630nm, it was observed that in the irradiation dose of 150J/cm2 in both concentrations (1,5 and 2mg/Kg ), the depth of necrosis is greater for Photogem® followed by Photogem® previously degradated in 514 and then in 630nm. In the dose of 200J/cm2 and in the concentration 2,0mg/kg, there is no differences in the depth of necrosis for non-irradiated Photogem® as well as for its photoproducts, what can be correlated with the phototoxicity of the photoproducts, that in high concentrations and elevate irradiation doses, present a greater photodynamic activity. These results obtained in vivo are in agreement with the ones in vitro, since in the cytotoxic experiments the photoproducts are less cytotoxic than non irradiated Photogem® presenting in the animals a small depth of necrosis. These findings may be helpful for establishment of dosimetry for Photogem® in Photodynamic Therap

Determination of post-mortem interval using in situ tissue optical fluorescence

In this study we have used fluorescence spectroscopy to determine the post-mortem interval. Conventional methods in forensic medicine involve tissue or body fluids sampling and laboratory tests, which are often time demanding and may depend on expensive analysis. The presented method consists in using time-dependent variations on the fluorescence spectrum and its correlation with the time elapsed after regular metabolic activity cessation. This new approach addresses unmet needs for post-mortem interval determination in forensic medicine, by providing rapid and in situ measurements that shows improved time resolution relative to existing methods. (C) 2009 Optical Society of AmericaFAPESPCoordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES)CNP

Assessment of ALA-induced PpIX production in porcine skin pretreated with microneedles

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is used for skin treatments of premalignant and cancer lesions and recognized as a non-invasive technique that combines tissue photosensitization and subsequent exposure to light to induce cell death. However, it is limited to the treatment of superficial lesions, mainly due to the low cream penetration. Therefore, the improvement of transdermal distribution of aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is needed. In this study, the kinetics and homogeneity of production of ALA-induced PpIX after the skin pre-treatment with microneedles rollers of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mm length were investigated. An improvement in homogeneity and production of PpIX was shown in a porcine model. Widefield fluorescence imaging three hours after the topical application of ALA-cream in the combined treatment with microeedles rollers