A Small Molecular Multifunctional Tool for pH Detection, Fluorescence Imaging, and Photodynamic Therapy

Qingbin Zeng; Qianni Guo; Yaping Yuan; Xiaoxiao Zhang; Weiping Jiang; Sa Xiao; Bin Zhang; Xin Lou; Chaohui Ye; Maili Liu; Louis-S Bouchard; Xin Zhou

doi:10.1021/acsabm.9b01080

A Small Molecular Multifunctional Tool for pH Detection, Fluorescence Imaging, and Photodynamic Therapy

ACS Appl Bio Mater. 2020 Mar 16;3(3):1779-1786. doi: 10.1021/acsabm.9b01080. Epub 2020 Jan 21.

Authors

Qingbin Zeng¹, Qianni Guo^{1

2}, Yaping Yuan^{1

2}, Xiaoxiao Zhang¹, Weiping Jiang^{1

2}, Sa Xiao^{1

2}, Bin Zhang¹, Xin Lou³, Chaohui Ye^{1

2}, Maili Liu^{1

2}, Louis-S Bouchard⁴, Xin Zhou^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy of Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences-Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Wuhan 430071, P. R. China.
² University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China.
³ Department of Radiology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, P. R. China.
⁴ California Nano Systems Institute, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Molecular Biology Institute, Department of Chemistry and of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States.

PMID: 35021667
DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.9b01080

Abstract

A smart multitool platform for theranostics would be useful for monitoring the administration of therapies in vivo. However, the integration of multiple functions into a single small-molecule platform remains a challenge. In this study, we developed a multifunctional probe based on a small-molecule platform. The properties of this probe were investigated via hyperpolarized ¹²⁹Xe NMR/MRI, fluorescence imaging in cells and in vivo, and photodynamic therapy (PDT) in tumor mouse models. This multifunctional probe shows good pH response across a broad range of pH values. It also exhibits excellent fluorescence in vivo for mapping its biodistribution. Additionally, it produces enough ¹O₂ radicals for in vivo PDT. The combination of these functionalities into a single small-molecule platform, rather than a bulky nanoconstruct, offers unique possibilities for molecular imaging and therapy.

Keywords: fluorescence imaging; multifunction probe; pH distribution MRI; photodynamic therapy; ultrasensitive NMR.