[Experimental study of the photokilling effect of a new photosensitizer, aluminum phthalocyanine, on human hepatoma cell line].

The photosensitizing effect of sulfonated aluminum phthalocyanine (ALSPC), a new photosensitizer, on human hepatoma cells (SMMC-7721) was studied in vitro. It was found that ALSPC was not cytotoxic even at a concentration of 100 micrograms/ml. In the photosensitizing experiments with different irradiation wavebands, the red waveband had the most marked killing effect, which coincided with the peak absorption band of ALSPC. As the best penetration waveband for human body tissues is just located in this red region, ALSPC has a potential value in clinical application. The photosensitizing inactivation of cells was also estimated by 3H-TDR radioisotope labelling method, confirming that ALSPC had photokilling ability. ALSPC had almost the same photokilling activity on cancer cells as HPD.