CHAPTER 17: Drug-induced Photosensitivity Check Access

Some otherwise benign drugs give rise to toxicity only after tissue exposure to sunlight. This phenomenon, known as drug-induced photosensitivity (DIPS), occurs after topical or systemic drug administration and can lead to severe adverse effects. This chapter first briefly presents the mechanisms, screening strategies and promoting factors involved in DIPS and then discusses five mitigation strategies that have been successfully employed to remove this liability: (1) decrease the intrinsic property forecast index [iPFI, defined as the sum of chromatographic partition coefficient (ChromLogP) and number of aromatic rings], (2) break π-electron conjugation, (3) remove an aryl halogen atom, (4) introduce an intramolecular scavenger and (5) change a positional isomer. These strategies are further illustrated with many published and previously unpublished examples.