Noninvasive fluorescent study in situ and in real time of glucose effects on the pharmacokinetic of calcein

This study was undertaken to compare the effect of glucose injection on the pharmacokinetic behavior of a soluble dye in normal and tumoral tissues. The measurements were done using a noninvasive fluorescent spectroscopy in situ and in real time. The experiments were performed on three groups of animals with calcein as a soluble pH-insensitive fluorescent dye combined or not with glucose. Glucose solution was injected 5 or 30 min before calcein. Fluorescence emission intensity was recorded on normal and tumor tissues with an optical multichannel analyzer. Calcein concentration was also measured in blood using repetitive blood sampling. In the control group (without glucose injection), calcein is rapidly cleared from the blood, with a slow tissue clearance. Fluorescence of normal tissue was higher than fluorescence measured in tumor tissue. When glucose is injected 5 min before calcein, there was a rapid increase of tissue fluorescence followed by a plateau remaining during the whole experiment. No difference between tumor and normal tissue fluorescence intensity was observed. When glucose was injected 30 min before calcein, the plateau phase was reduced to 50 min in normal tissue. Tumor tissue fluorescence displays no distinct plateau phase. These results clearly showed the effect of glucose injection in situ and in real time, by a noninvasive method, on the pharmacokinetic of a soluble dye in a tumor tissue compared to a normal tissue. Differences between blood compartment and tissues kinetic profiles were also clearly demonstrated. (C) 2002 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.