Diffusing fibers are more effective than flat-cut fibers in delivering the therapeutic light when performing Interstitial Photodynamic Therapy (I-PDT), an approach that is aimed at selectively killing cancerous tissues by harnessing the local action of light on regions previously doped with photosensitizers. Biocompatibility is required for the fibers, as they need to be introduced into the tissue. In this work, the design and fabrication of a diffusing biocompatible polymer optical fiber (POF), using polylactic acid (PLA) via a thermal drawing method is presented. Strongly scattering spherical end (SSSE) for I-PDT applications is achieved by introducing nanopores. The efficiency of these fibers when performing I-PDT is evaluated in vitro on PC3 cells and in vivo on male BALB/c nude mice. When using a PLA concentration of 6%, the average diameter of the SSSE is less than 1 mm, suitable for interstitial catheter implantation in cancer tissue. Besides, low transmission/bending loss and superior biocompatibility is obtained.

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