Aim: To study the effect of fullerene-containing composites, irradiated by visible light, on the radical oxygen species (ROS) generation in thymocytes, ascitic cells from Erlich's tumor and leukemia cells L1210; to investigate viability of these cells in the presence of fullerene-containing composites under irradiation conditions.
Materials and methods: The viability of cells was evaluated by staining with 0.4% solution of the trypan blue; ROS were detected with the use of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and spin traps; solutions of fullerene-containing composites were irradiated with mercury-vapor lamp.
Results: We demonstrated that under irradiation conditions fullerene-containing composites increase the rate of ROS generation and decrease the number of viable tumor cells.
Conclusions: The obtained data allow to consider the fullerene-containing composites as potential agents for photodynamic therapy.