Cytotoxicity of Metal-Based Photoactivated Chemotherapy (PACT) Compounds

Metal-based compounds have been used to treat cancer for decades, with cisplatin being the most common and widely used. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is another clinical modality used to fight cancer, which uses a photosensitizer (PS) that localizes in cancer tissues. This PS is activated by the illumination of the tumor with visible light. Photoactivated chemotherapy (PACT) is a new concept that brings these two ideas together. Like PDT , PACT aims at sparing healthy tissues while maintaining toxicity against cancerous cells. Unlike PDT , which often stops working when the concentration of dioxygen in illuminated tissues is too low, light activation of PACT compounds remains efficient in hypoxic cancer cells. This chapter addresses the methodology to experimentally measure the phototoxicity of PACT compounds in cancer cell lines, under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions.