Dual-Locked Near-Infrared Fluorescent Probes for Precise Detection of Melanoma via Hydrogen Peroxide-Tyrosinase Cascade Activation

Anal Chem. 2022 Jan 18;94(2):1070-1075. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c04058. Epub 2021 Dec 27.

Abstract

Activity-based near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probes provide powerful tools for diagnosis of diseases. However, most of these probes suffer from low specificity due to "off-target" reaction. The dual-locked strategy, which utilizes two biomarkers as triggers, can increase the specificity and precision of diagnosis. Here, we report a dual-locked NIR probe, MB-m-borate, which releases fluorophore methylene blue (MB) after hydrogen peroxide-tyrosinase (H2O2-TYR) cascade activation. Both MB-m-borate and its intermediate MB-m-phenol (the product after H2O2 activation) show almost nondetectable fluorescence. MB-m-borate exhibits "turn on" fluorescence upon H2O2-TYR cascade activation. The further live cell bioimaging results indicate that MB-m-borate only responds to melanoma cells, providing it as a robust probe for precise detection of melanoma. Finally, the probe is applied for the diagnosis of melanoma in vivo with a xenogeneic mouse model.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Fluorescence
  • Fluorescent Dyes*
  • HeLa Cells
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen Peroxide
  • Melanoma* / diagnostic imaging
  • Mice
  • Monophenol Monooxygenase

Substances

  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Hydrogen Peroxide
  • Monophenol Monooxygenase