FLUORESCENCE INTENSITY DISTRIBUTION DISPLAY OF DYES UPTAKEN IN A BIOLOGICAL CELL USING LASER-EXCITED FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPE SYSTEM: II. PHEOPHORBIDE A.

Fluorescence intensity distribution across a TE-2 cultured esophagus cancer cell which had uptaken Pheophorbide 'a' is measured quantitatively and displayed three-dimensionally using a newly developed laser-excited fluorescence microscope system. It was confirmed that the fluorescence intensity is weak at the central portion and strong around it, similar to Hp. 2HCl or HpD uptake. In the present case, however, the intensity ratio between these two portions was found to be larger than Hp cases. This fact leads the authors to infer that pheophorbide 'a' is mainly uptaken in the cytoplasmic membrane of this cancer cell. The authors also observed (by a time-resolved measurement) that the fluorescence intensity decreases with time after Ar laser irradiation and its distribution expands gradually; which facts are indicative of the photochemical process caused by the uptake of pheophorbide 'a' in the cancer cell.