Ti:sapphire laser with a Cu-vapour laser pump for two-photon photodynamic therapy

Summary form only given. Efficient two-photon photodynamic therapy (PDT) requires both high peak power of laser output and a considerable depth of light penetration into the tissue. Importance of Ti:sapphire lasers for two-photon PDT is stipulated by the fact that their output wavelength fits into a window of relative transparency for biological tissues, and the possibility of short-pulsed output, including femtosecond pulses, allows one to reach the 1-100 kW (and more) peak power without any additional amplification. However, application of femtosecond Ti:sapphire lasers in two-photon PDT are limited because of a rapid lengthening of pulses as they travel through tissues and even through beam delivery systems. This leads to substantial fall in their peak power. In the present work, we demonstrate results of development of a compact efficient nanosecond Ti:sapphire laser for two-photon PDT applications.