We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us

Download Mobile App




Near-Infrared Dye Could Highlight Cancer Locations

By HospiMedica International staff writers
Posted on 10 Jan 2016
Print article
Image: Artist’s image of resolved blood vessels in the forelimb and brain (Photo courtesy of Alexander Antaris/ Stanford University).
Image: Artist’s image of resolved blood vessels in the forelimb and brain (Photo courtesy of Alexander Antaris/ Stanford University).
A novel medical dye emits light at the near-infrared (NIR) wavelength, helping surgeons detect hard-to-find tumors.

Under development by researchers at Stanford University (CA, USA), the small-molecule fluorophore dye emits light in a portion of the NIR range known as the second window, or NIR-II. Dyes emitting light in that range have long wavelengths, allowing researchers to probe tissues at centimeter depths, as well as achieve micrometer-scale resolution at millimeter depth. But while all currently approved NIR-II fluorophores are excreted slowly from the reticuloendothelial system, the new dye is rapidly eliminated, with about 90% excreted through the kidneys within 24 hours.

In laboratory tests in mice, the fluorophore, which is based on CH1055 (a synthetic 970-Da organic molecule), outperformed indocyanine green in resolving lymphatic vasculature and sentinel lymphatic mapping near a tumor. High levels of uptake of were observed in brain tumors in the mice, suggesting that the dye could be detected at a depth of about four mm. The dye succeeded in resolving blood vessels in the forelimb as well as the peripheral brain with high clarity, but also provided clear resolution of tumors in the center of the mouse's brain.

The CH1055 dye also allows targeted molecular imaging of tumors in vivo when conjugated with an antibody. According to the researchers, this could in the future prove to be an invaluable surgical tool, since the dye provides a superior tumor-to-background signal ratio, and thus could allow precise image-guided real-time excision surgery. The study describing the NIR-II fluorophore and the mouse experiments was published on November 23, 2015, in Nature Materials.

“The difficulty is how to make a dye that is both fluorescent in the infrared and water soluble. A lot of dyes can glow but are not dissolvable in water, so we can't have them flowing in human blood. Making a dye that is both is really the difficulty,” said lead author graduate student Alex Antaris, MSc. “We struggled for about three years or so and finally we succeeded. What's more, the new dye produces images that are sharper and more detailed than before, increasing their potential value to medicine and surgery.”

Related Links:

Stanford University


Gold Member
Solid State Kv/Dose Multi-Sensor
AGMS-DM+
Gold Member
SARS‑CoV‑2/Flu A/Flu B/RSV Sample-To-Answer Test
SARS‑CoV‑2/Flu A/Flu B/RSV Cartridge (CE-IVD)
Silver Member
Compact 14-Day Uninterrupted Holter ECG
NR-314P
New
Neonatal Transport Ventilator
Babylite

Print article

Channels

Critical Care

view channel
Image: The permeable wearable electronics developed for long-term biosignal monitoring (Photo courtesy of CityUHK)

Super Permeable Wearable Electronics Enable Long-Term Biosignal Monitoring

Wearable electronics have become integral to enhancing health and fitness by offering continuous tracking of physiological signals over extended periods. This monitoring is crucial for understanding an... Read more

Patient Care

view channel
Image: The newly-launched solution can transform operating room scheduling and boost utilization rates (Photo courtesy of Fujitsu)

Surgical Capacity Optimization Solution Helps Hospitals Boost OR Utilization

An innovative solution has the capability to transform surgical capacity utilization by targeting the root cause of surgical block time inefficiencies. Fujitsu Limited’s (Tokyo, Japan) Surgical Capacity... Read more

Health IT

view channel
Image: First ever institution-specific model provides significant performance advantage over current population-derived models (Photo courtesy of Mount Sinai)

Machine Learning Model Improves Mortality Risk Prediction for Cardiac Surgery Patients

Machine learning algorithms have been deployed to create predictive models in various medical fields, with some demonstrating improved outcomes compared to their standard-of-care counterparts.... Read more

Point of Care

view channel
Image: The PATHFAST hs-cTnI-II high-sensitivity troponin assay has been developed for the PATHFAST Biomarker Analyzer (Photo courtesy of Polymedco)

POC Myocardial Infarction Test Delivers Results in 17 Minutes

Chest pain is the second leading cause of emergency department (ED) visits by adults in the United States, generating over 7 million visits annually. In the event of a suspected heart attack, physicians... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.