Activatable fluorescent probes for real-time imaging-guided tumor therapy

Authors：Duan, Qi-Jia; Zhao, Zhong-Yi; Zhang, Yao-Jun; Fu, Liangbing; Yuan, You-Yong; Du, Jin-Zhi^*; Wang, Jun^*

Source：Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 2023, 196: 114793.

DOI：10.1016/j.addr.2023.114793

• NANOTECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS
• 5-AMINOLEVULINIC ACID
• PRECISION MEDICINE
• INDOCYANINE GREEN
• CANCER
• SURGERY
• PH
• NANOPARTICLE
• DRUG
• MICROENVIRONMENT

Surgery and drug therapy are the two principal options for cancer treatment. However, their clinical ben-efits are hindered by the difficulty of accurate location of the tumors and timely monitoring of the treat-ment efficacy of drugs, respectively. Rapid development of imaging techniques provides promising tools to address these challenges. Compared with conventional imaging techniques such as magnetic reso-nance imaging and computed tomography etc., fluorescence imaging exhibits high spatial resolution, real-time imaging capability, and relatively low costs devices. The advancements in fluorescent probes further accelerate the implementation of fluorescence imaging in tumor diagnosis and treatment moni-toring. In particular, the emergence of site-specifically activatable fluorescent probes fits the demands of tumor delineation and real-time feedback of the treatment efficacy. A variety of small molecule probes or nanoparticle-based probes have been developed and explored for the above-mentioned applications. This review will discuss recent advances in fluorescent probes with a special focus on activatable nanoprobes and highlight the potential implementation of activatable nanoprobes in fluorescence imaging-guided surgery as well as imaging-guided drug therapy.