Acute morphological sequelae of photodynamic therapy with 5-aminolevulinic acid in the C6 spheroid model.

Objective: Aminolevulinic acid (ALA)-mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT) may represent a treatment option for malignant brain tumors. We used a three-dimensional cell culture system, the C6 glioma spheroid model, to study acute effects of PDT and how they might be influenced by treatment conditions.

Methods: Spheroids were incubated for 4 h in 100 microg/ml ALA in 5% CO(2) in room air or 95% O(2) with subsequent irradiation using a diode laser (lambda = 635 nm, 40 mW/cm(2), total fluence 25 J/cm(2)).