Hypsochromic Shift Donor-Acceptor NIR-II Dye for High-Efficiency Tumor Imaging

J Med Chem. 2023 Jun 22;66(12):7880-7893. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c00253. Epub 2023 Jun 9.

Abstract

Nowadays, second near-infrared window (NIR-II) dyes' development focuses on pursuing a longer absorption/emission wavelength and higher quantum yield, which usually means an extended π conjugation system, resulting in an enormous molecular weight and poor druggability. Most researchers thought that the reduced π conjugation system would bring on a blueshift spectrum that causes dim imaging qualities. Little efforts have been made to study smaller NIR-II dyes with a reduced π conjugation system. Herein, we synthesized a reduced π conjugation system donor-acceptor (D-A) probe TQ-1006 (Em = 1006 nm). Compared with its counterpart donor-acceptor-donor (D-A-D) structure TQT-1048 (Em = 1048 nm), TQ-1006 exhibited comparable excellent blood vessels, lymphatic drainage imaging performance, and a higher tumor-to-normal tissue (T/N) ratio. An RGD conjugated probe TQ-RGD showed an extra high contrast tumor imaging (T/N ≥ 10), further proving D-A dyes' excellent NIR-II biomedical imaging applications. Overall, the D-A framework provides a promising approach to designing next-generation NIR-II fluorophores.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Fluorescent Dyes / chemistry
  • Humans
  • Neoplasms* / diagnostic imaging
  • Oligopeptides
  • Optical Imaging / methods
  • Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared / methods

Substances

  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Oligopeptides