Photodynamic diagnostic in atherosclerotic artery wall of rabbits

摘要

A growing number of studies have demonstrated that autofluorescence and induced fluorescence spectroscopy can be used to distinguish normal and abnormal tissues in vivo. Through photochemical accumulation in atherosclerotic lesions it is possible to obtain induced fluorescence, this accumulation has been demonstrated in many researches. The aim of this study was to diagnose, by aluminum phthalocyanine transadventitial fluorescence, atherosclerotic plaques in artery wall of rabbits. Five male Norfolk rabbits were submitted to a high level cholesterol diet for 9 weeks. When the blood cholesterol level reached around 1000 mg/dl three of these animals were injected intravenously 50(M/50(1 of aluminum phthalocyanine (AlPc). After 24 hours these animals were submitted to a surgery to expose the iliac artery. The transadventitial fluorescence spectra were acquired in several points over the artery. Characteristic peaks of the collagen, the porphyrin and the induced by AlPc were observed.