It is to provide a method for detecting urothelial cancer simply and with high accuracy. It is a method for detecting urothelial cancer comprising administering 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), a derivative thereof, or a salt of these to a test subject, collecting urine from the test subject, and detecting the presence of fluorescence or amount of fluorescence in the collected urine.

It is intended to provide a therapeutic and/or diagnostic agent that can be used in photodynamic therapy (PDT) or photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) capable of utilizing infrared-spectrum light such as near-infrared light (NIR), infrared light, or far-infrared light, which attains a deep body penetration. The present invention provides a photodynamic therapeutic or diagnostic agent or a photodynamic therapeutic or diagnostic kit for cancer or infectious disease, comprising: a particle (e.g., a lanthanide particle) that emits upconversion luminescence by infrared-spectrum light such as near-infrared light having a wavelength of 0.7 μm to 2.5 μm; and a photosensitizer (e.g., porphyrin) or a 5-aminolevulinic acid group.

Disclosed are methods of obtaining zero vergence ultrasound waves for providing sonodynamic therapy with ultrasound waves that do not converge and do not diverge. The method includes coupling a sonodynamic therapy device with an array of flat piezoelectric transducers to a skin surface. A controller is configured to generate an electrical drive signal at a frequency, modulate the drive signal, and drive the transducer with the modulated drive signal at the frequency to produce a zero vergence ultrasound wave to produce an average acoustic intensity sufficient to activate a sonosensitizer in a treatment region without damaging healthy cells in the treatment region.

The present invention is directed to a system and method for photoeradication of microorganisms from a target. The method includes the step of obtaining test data for a plurality of experiments each of which comprises irradiating test microorganisms with a plurality of light pulses having a wavelength that ranges from 380 nm to 500 nm. The light pulses have a plurality of pulse parameters (peak irradiance, pulse duration, and off time between adjacent light pulses) and are provided at a radiant exposure that ranges from 0.5 J/cm.sup.2 to 60 J/cm.sup.2 during each of a plurality of irradiation sessions. The test data comprises a survival rate for the test microorganisms after irradiation with the light pulses. The method also includes the step of analyzing the test data to identify the pulse parameters for the light pulses and the radiant exposure for each of the irradiation sessions that result in a desired survival rate for the test microorganisms. The method further includes the step of irradiating the microorganisms of the target with light pulses having the identified pulse parameters at the identified radiant exposure for each of the irradiation sessions so as to photoeradicate all or a portion of the microorganisms.

Provided are a pharmaceutical composition for treating or preventing drug-resistant cancer by photodynamic therapy (PDT) that contains 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) or a derivative thereof, or a salt of these, and a method for treating or preventing drug-resistant cancer using the pharmaceutical composition.

This invention relates to a method of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for bladder cancer and its use as an adjuvant or neoadjuvant therapy in the treatment of bladder cancer. The invention provides a composition comprising hexyl 5-ALA ester (HAL) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof for use in a method of photodynamic therapy for bladder cancer, wherein said composition is instilled into the bladder of a patient in need of such treatment and the inside of said bladder is exposed to blue light having a fluence rate of 1.5 to 12.5 mW/cm2.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to methods and compositions for the treatment of tumors, using a combination of immunotherapeutic agents and tumor-targeting viral capsid protein assemblages comprising anti-cancer molecules conjugated to viral capsid proteins.

The present invention is related to a pulse photodynamic therapy (or pulse PDT) treatment of photodamaged skin.

Products, compositions, systems, and methods for modifying a target structure which mediates or is associated with a biological activity, including treatment of conditions, disorders, or diseases mediated by or associated with a target structure, such as a virus, cell, subcellular structure or extracellular structure. The methods may be performed in situ in a non-invasive manner by placing a nanoparticle having a metallic shell on at least a fraction of a surface in a vicinity of a target structure in a subject and applying an initiation energy to a subject thus producing an effect on or change to the target structure directly or via a modulation agent. The nanoparticle is configured, upon exposure to a first wavelength λ.sub.1, to generate a second wavelength λ.sub.2 of radiation having a higher energy than the first wavelength λ.sub.1. The methods may further be performed by application of an initiation energy to a subject in situ to activate a pharmaceutical agent directly or via an energy modulation agent, optionally in the presence of one or more plasmonics active agents, thus producing an effect on or change to the target structure. Kits containing products or compositions formulated or configured and systems for use in practicing these methods.

Disclosed are methods of obtaining zero vergence ultrasound waves for providing sonodynamic therapy with ultrasound waves. The method includes coupling a sonodynamic therapy device with an array of flat piezoelectric transducers to a skin surface. A controller is configured to generate an electrical drive signal at a frequency, modulate the drive signal, and drive the transducer with the modulated drive signal at the frequency to produce a zero vergence ultrasound wave to produce an average acoustic intensity sufficient to activate a sonosensitizer in a treatment region without damaging healthy cells in the treatment region.