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High School Student with a Traditionally Underrepresented Background

HS Poster

Poster 42 - Comparing Indocyanine Green with a 1064 Nanometer Dye

Saturday, October 26, 2024
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST
Location: Exhibit Hall E, F & G

Introduction: Cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, driving the urgent need for more
effective and less invasive treatment options. Photothermal therapy (PTT) is a promising therapeutic
approach, that utilizes light-activated agents to generate localized heat for tumor ablation.
However, the development of efficient photothermal agents with optimal absorption properties,
high photostability, and minimal toxicity presents an ongoing challenge in the field.
This research explores the potential of a 1064 nm dye as a new photothermal agent.

Materials and

Methods: The efficacy of the the 1064-nm dye dye as a photothermal agent was evaluated on cell cultures and benchmarked against Indocyanine Green (ICG). The dye’s optical absorption properties and stability were characterized using a spectrophotometer. Safety (lack of cytotoxicity) and photothermal efficacy were assessed using HeLa cell cultures. MTT assay was used to quantify cell viability. Cells treated with the 1064 nm dye and ICG were exposed to near-infrared pulsed-laser irradiation, activating the photothermal effect, and the cell viability was quantified by the conversion of MTT to purple formazan crystals by metabolically active calls. We hypothesized that the 1064 nm dye would demonstrate enhanced photothermal efficacy, resulting in significantly lower cancer cell viability compared to monomeric ICG at equivalent concentrations.

Results, Conclusions, and Discussions: Results indicate that as a new photothermal therapy agent, the 1064 nm dye shows great promise. The cells treated with ICG proliferated, while cells irradiated with the new dye decreased in cell viability. The low laser intensity used for ICG may have heated cells, causing upregulated mitochondrial function. Our use of a pulsed laser and a short duration time may have also prevented the photothermal effect from taking place within the ICG group. Thus, the 1064 nm dye presents itself as a better candidate for PTT since it has a deeper tissue penetration and higher photothermal efficacy under laser irradiation than ICG. This research can lead to the development of safer and more effective photothermal agents for
cancer therapy.

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