Abstract

Photosensitization of all tissue in sufficient quantity to generate damage is one of the limiting factors for Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) efficiency. Methyl nicotinate (MN) is a thermogenic and vasodilating substance that facilitates the topical tissue penetration of some compounds. The topical MAL (methyl aminolevulinate) PDT is commonly used as a precursor of protoporphyrin IX (PpIX). This study investigates the safety of topical use in NM, as well as its ability to improve the efficiency of topical PDT. For this, we investigate the cytotoxicity of MN, as well as its actions in increasing cellular metabolism and vasodilation. Besides, its ability to optimize the formation of PpIX in the tissue when associated with MAL cream was investigated, besides assessing the severity of necrosis obtained by treatments. The cytotoxicity of MN was tested for concentrations of 0, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1% in cell culture. For the concentration of 0.5%, the cellular metabolism was evaluated using confocal microscopy to calculate the redox rate. In the Chorioallantoic Membrane Model, vasodilation was evaluated for concentrations of 0.5 and 1% MN during 1 h of incubation. In the animal model, the healthy skin of Wistar rat was used to evaluate the production of PpIX in the tissue and the degree of necrosis obtained by Photodynamic therapy when using NM associated with methyl aminolevulinate. It was observed the non-cytotoxicity in vitro of MN in the concentration used (0.5%) and its ability to increase cellular metabolism. In a chorioallantoic model, the MN vasodilation power was demonstrated for different caliber of vessels. In vivo studies are showing that the incorporation of MN in the MAL cream increases the amount of PpIX produced in the tissue causing a higher effect on the epidermis after PDT. This improvement of the protocol may make the procedure more effective both in the destruction of tumor tissue and in the treatment of deeper cells decreasing possible recurrence, in addition to allowing improvements in the protocol, such as reducing the cream's incubation time.