Photodiagnosis and Photodynamic Therapy
Volume 2, Issue 3 , Pages 175-191, September 2005

Methylene blue in photodynamic therapy: From basic mechanisms to clinical applications

  • João Paulo Tardivo

      Affiliations

    • Faculdade de Medicina ABC, Av. Príncipe de Gales, 821, C.P. 106, CEP 09060-650, Brazil
    • ,
  • Auro Del Giglio

      Affiliations

    • Faculdade de Medicina ABC, Av. Príncipe de Gales, 821, C.P. 106, CEP 09060-650, Brazil
    • ,
  • Carla Santos de Oliveira

      Affiliations

    • Departamento de Bioquímica, IQ-USP, C.P. 26077, 05513-970 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
    • ,
  • Dino Santesso Gabrielli

      Affiliations

    • Departamento de Bioquímica, IQ-USP, C.P. 26077, 05513-970 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
    • ,
  • Helena Couto Junqueira

      Affiliations

    • Departamento de Bioquímica, IQ-USP, C.P. 26077, 05513-970 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
    • ,
  • Dayane Batista Tada

      Affiliations

    • Departamento de Bioquímica, IQ-USP, C.P. 26077, 05513-970 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
    • ,
  • Divinomar Severino

      Affiliations

    • Departamento de Bioquímica, IQ-USP, C.P. 26077, 05513-970 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
    • ,
  • Rozane de Fátima Turchiello

      Affiliations

    • Departamento de Bioquímica, IQ-USP, C.P. 26077, 05513-970 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
    • ,
  • Mauricio S. Baptista, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Departamento de Bioquímica, IQ-USP, C.P. 26077, 05513-970 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +55 11 30913815; fax: +55 11 38155579.

published online 21 November 2005.

Summary 

Methylene blue (MB) is a molecule that has been playing important roles in microbiology and pharmacology for some time. It has been widely used to stain living organisms, to treat methemoglobinemia, and lately it has been considered as a drug for photodynamic therapy (PDT). In this review, we start from the fundamental photophysical, photochemical and photobiological characteristics of this molecule and evolved to show in vitro and in vivo applications related to PDT. The clinical cases shown include treatments of basal cell carcinoma, Kaposi's Sarcoma, melanoma, virus and fungal infections. We concluded that used together with a recently developed continuous light source (RL50®), MB has the potential to treat a variety of cancerous and non-cancerous diseases, with low toxicity and no side effects.

Keywords: Methylene blue, PDT, Photodynamic therapy, Apoptosis, Singlet oxygen, ROS, Cancer, Melanoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, Onychomicosis

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PII: S1572-1000(05)00097-9

doi:10.1016/S1572-1000(05)00097-9

Photodiagnosis and Photodynamic Therapy
Volume 2, Issue 3 , Pages 175-191, September 2005

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