Verteporfin

For in vivo comparisons we used a murine model of disseminated ovarian carcinoma previously established in our laboratory38 (link). Briefly, female Swiss nude mice (Cox, Cambridge, MA), 6–8 weeks old, were injected intraperitoneally 3.15 × 10⁷ OVCAR5 cells in single cell suspension in 2 mL PBS. Tumours were allowed to develop for 14 days prior to imaging, during which time mice had continual access to food and water while being housed in laminar flow racks under specific pathogen-free conditions. Microendoscopy was performed as previously described39 (link), using intraperitoneal injection with 1 mg/kg body weight of verteporfin (benzoporhyrin derivative monoacid ring-A or BPD-MA, VWR, Radnor, PA, USA) for fluorescence contrast. Imaging was performed under anesthesia with the fibre probe introduced into the intraperitoneal cavity via a catheter inserted through the abdominal wall. Approximately 20 separate microendoscope fields were obtained throughout the peritoneal cavity for each mouse. Microendoscope images were segmented in the same manner as described below for 3D cell cultures to obtain the distribution of tumour sizes throughout the peritoneal cavity. All animal procedures were conducted in accordance with institutional guidelines for research animal care.