Methylene blue is a dye used in sentinel lymph node identification in breast cancer patients to determine if the cancer has metastasized.  However, a contrasting dye is necessary to distinguish lymph channels in the breast from lymph channels in the arm to minimize complications from lymphedema.  Our goal is to develop a new dye agent based around the low toxicity methylene blue structure to achieve a distinguishable wavelength.  Our current strategy involves incorporation of sulfanilamide with methylene blue to achieve the bathochromic shift necessary to give a strong contrast while maintaining low toxicity.  Understanding that the sulfanilamide group is often linked to allergic responses, other functional groups are being explored to reach these goals.  Presented here are the preliminary findings on synthesis of the methylene blue sulfanilamide analogs and the excitation/emission profiles associated with them.

Design of methylene blue analogs as contrasting dyes for sentinel node biopsy

2019 Spring National Meeting

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