Enzyme-Instructed Aggregation/Dispersion of Fluorophores for Near-Infrared Fluorescence Imaging In Vivo

Zhipeng Zhang; Peiyao Chen; Yao Sun

doi:10.3390/molecules28145360

Enzyme-Instructed Aggregation/Dispersion of Fluorophores for Near-Infrared Fluorescence Imaging In Vivo

Molecules. 2023 Jul 12;28(14):5360. doi: 10.3390/molecules28145360.

Authors

Zhipeng Zhang¹, Peiyao Chen², Yao Sun³

Affiliations

¹ Xianning Medical College, Hubei University of Science & Technology, Xianning 437000, China.
² Key Laboratory of Fermentation Engineering (Ministry of Education), National "111" Center for Cellular Regulation and Molecular Pharmaceutics, Hubei Key Laboratory of Industrial Microbiology, School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China.
³ National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China.

Abstract

Near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence is a noninvasive, highly sensitive, and high-resolution modality with great potential for in vivo imaging. Compared with "Always-On" probes, activatable NIR fluorescent probes with "Turn-Off/On" or "Ratiometric" fluorescent signals at target sites exhibit better signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), wherein enzymes are one of the ideal triggers for probe activation, which play vital roles in a variety of biological processes. In this review, we provide an overview of enzyme-activatable NIR fluorescent probes and concentrate on the design strategies and sensing mechanisms. We focus on the aggregation/dispersion state of fluorophores after the interaction of probes and enzymes and finally discuss the current challenges and provide some perspective ideas for the construction of enzyme-activatable NIR fluorescent probes.

Keywords: activatable probe; enzyme; near-infrared fluorescence.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Fluorescent Dyes*
Optical Imaging*

Substances

Fluorescent Dyes

Grants and funding

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province, 2022CFA033, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, CCNU22QN007).