High-power light-emitting diode array design and assembly for practical photodynamic therapy research.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Photochemistry
• Oncology

Background:

• Photodynamic therapy (PDT) clinical translation is driven by various light sources.
• Exploring new photosensitizers (PSs) for PDT requires specific activation wavelengths, often necessitating costly, custom light sources.
• Existing light sources pose financial and technical challenges for multi-wavelength PS research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a cost-effective, high-power LED array system for benchtop photodynamic therapy (PDT) research.
• To create a versatile and modular light source for efficient switching between wavelengths, facilitating the study of novel photosensitizers (PSs).
• To streamline in vitro PDT experimentation with a user-friendly and affordable system.

Main Methods:

• Assembly of a low-cost, high-power LED module with a modular design for wavelength flexibility.
• Development of supporting infrastructure, software, and protocols for streamlined in vitro PDT experiments.
• Validation of system stability and uniformity at high light intensities.

Main Results:

• The LED array system demonstrated stable performance with high intensity (>100 mW/cm²) and low variation (<2.3%) across the illumination field.
• Efficacy was confirmed by treating an ovarian cancer cell line with aminolevulinic acid and verteporfin at a clinically relevant dose (50 J/cm²).
• Over 90% cell death was achieved for both photosensitizers, showcasing the system's effectiveness.

Conclusions:

• The developed LED array system offers a low-cost, accessible tool for photosensitizer (PS) and multi-PS photodynamic therapy (PDT) research.
• This system reduces the barrier to entry for researchers, enabling efficient investigation of new PSs and multi-PS PDT applications.
• The tool aims to accelerate discoveries at the forefront of photodynamic therapy research.