Did you know, the first antibacterial and antimicrobial drugs were derived from azo dyes? These are the same kinds of dyes used to stain your clothes, backpacks, purses, shoes, and are even used for some good old fashion DIY tie tie projects.
Sounds a bit...sketchy... But here is the T
In 1932, right before penicillin became commercially available (which was in 1940), a German pathologist by the name of Johannes Domagk developed a drug by the name of Prontosil, which “was the first commercially available antibiotic.” This drug is also widely known as Sulfanilamide. Prontosil and sulfanilamide share many commonalities, and are both
within the red azo dye family.
Sulfanilamide was originally discovered to be antimicrobial when it was delivered to living organisms (such as a mouse), and added to cells in cultures (such as cells in a petri dish). The results showed the Sulfanilamide can kill bacteria in the staph family, such as the bacteria that causes strep throat), but only when it was used in living organisms.
Note: This discovery was most likely non-intentional, as the FDA was only 9 years old and looking to better regulate the safety and efficacy of consumer products, such as dyes.
Sulfadimidine was first administered to patients in its azo dye-form, which would be similar to chugging a bottle of Rit-dye today (don’t try this at home). People’s skin would literally turn red after ingesting the dye mixture, although this side effect typically only lasted 1 day. The benefits of Sulfanilamide greatly made up for this side effect, as there were no other drugs on the market that competed with the antimicrobial properties of sulfanilamide yet. (i.e. take sulfanilamide and turn red for a day, or suffer the consequences of disease)
As it turns out, Sulfadimidine in its Azo-dye form was effective due to interactions in a certain region of the molecule, rather than the molecule as a whole. The antibacterial effects of Prontosil were due to a specific bonding pattern in the middle of the molecule that was impeding bacterial growth.
Below is an image of the Sulfadimidine in it's Azo-dye form. The parts in red are responsible for Dye-like properties, while the part in brown is responsible for antimicrobial properties. After this discovery, Sulfadimidine was reformulated so that it only contained the molecular group responsible for the antibiotic properties. The result of the re-formulation caused patients to no longer red after ingesting the drug.
Over the years, Sulfanilamide has accumulated a bad rap for having been mixed with what is commonly known as antifreeze (diethylene glycol), to create a sweet tasting, "child friendly" cure to strep throat back in 1937. Low and behold, this concoction ended up killing hundreds of children and was quickly removed off the shelves due to the toxicity of the anti-freeze additive. This pharmacological crisis called the FDA to action in enforcing companies to prove the effectiveness and safety of drugs.
Despite the pharmaceutical disaster that occurred, Domagk won the Nobel Prize for the discovery of Prontosil (Sulfonamido–chrysoidine) for its therapeutic effects against Staph infections. Prontosil was the progenitor of the drugs that turned the tide in the war against bacterial infections, making way for the world of modern medicine we have today.
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