Background and Objective: We have developed a lightactivated method called photochemical tissue bonding (PTB) for closing wounds using green light and a photosensitizing dye (Rose Bengal-RB) to initiate photochemical crosslinking of wound surface proteins. These studies were designed to determine whether RB causes phototoxicity during closure of skin incisions with PTB. Study Design/Materials and Methods: RB phototoxicity was evaluated after sealing incisions in porcine skin ex vivo and rabbit skin in vivo using PTB (1 mM RB, 100 J/cm 2 , 532 nm, 0.3 or 0.5 W/cm 2 .) Dead cells were identified by pyknotic nuclei and eosinophilic cytoplasm on H&E-stained sections. The influence on RB phototoxicity of penetration of RB into the wound wall (by confocal microscopy), RB concentration in the tissue (by extraction), and fluence of 532 nm reaching depths in skin (calculated from skin optical properties) were investigated. Results: No significant differences were found in the percent dead cells in PTB-treated and control incisions in porcine skin at 24 hours or in rabbit skin at 2 hours and 3 and 7 days after surgery. RB was retained in a $100 mm wide band next to the wound wall. The mean RB concentration within this band was 0.42 AE 0.03 mM. Monte Carlo modeling of light distribution indicated that the fluence rate decreased from the subsurface peak to 0.5 W/ cm 2 in the mid-dermis ($350 mm.) In vitro RB phototoxicity to dermal fibroblasts yielded an LD 50 of 0.50 AE 0.09 J/cm 2 when the cells contained 0.46 mM RB. Conclusions: PTB does not cause phototoxicity when used to repair skin wounds even though the RB concentration and 532 nm fluence in the mid-dermis during PTB are much greater than the LD 50 for RB phototoxicity in vitro. These results indicate that phototoxicity is not a concern when using PTB for tissue repair.