The newly synthesized potential photosensitizer octa-(alpha) -butyloxy-zinc phthalocyanine (8-(alpha) -bo-ZnPc) is characterized by a high absorption coefficient at the far red wavelength 735 nm and a good singlet oxygen quantum yield. The pharmacokinetics of 8- (alpha) -bo-ZnPc were studied on the Lewis lung carcinoma in mice after i.v. administration of 7.8 micrometers ole/kg body weight solubilized in PBS with 1% Tween 80 at 2, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 168 hour incubation intervals. The accumulated dye contents were chemically extracted from selected tissues and the concentrations were measured by absorption spectroscopy. The parenchymatous organs, liver and spleen, showed maximum 8-(alpha) -bo-ZnPc concentrations after 6 h incubation (33 nmole/g liver and 5 nmole/g spleen, respectively). An extensive uptake was detected in the lung where concentrations higher than 90 nmole/g tissue were measured in the 6, 12, 24, and 48 hour extracts. The malignant tissue did not accumulate higher 8-(alpha) -bo-ZnPc concentrations than 0.4 nmole/g tumor during the entire investigation period. The dye contents extracted from muscle, representing normal tumor surrounding tissue, and skin were even lower and never exceeded 0.11 nmole/g muscle (6 h) and 0.21 nmole/g skin (2 h), respectively.
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