Novel activated NIR-II fluorescence/Ratio photoacoustic probe for dual-modality accurate imaging of palladium ions overload in mouse liver

Abstract

Palladium contaminants can pose risks to human health and the natural environment. Once Pd²⁺ enters the body, it can bind with DNA, proteins, and other macromolecules, disrupting cellular processes and causing serious harm to health. Therefore, it becomes critical to develop simple, highly selective and precise methods for detecting Pd²⁺in vivo. Here, we have successfully developed the first activated second near-infrared region fluorescence (NIR-II FL) and ratio photoacoustic (PA) probe NYR-1 for dual-modal accurate detection of Pd²⁺ levels. NYR-1 is capable of rapidly (< 60 s) and sensitively detection of Pd²⁺ in solution, providing switched on NIR-II FL₉₂₀ and ratio PA₈₀₈/PA₇₂₀ dual-mode signal change. More notably, the probe NYR-1 was successfully used for non-invasive imaging of Pd²⁺ overload in mouse liver by NIR-II FL/Ratio PA dual-modality imaging technology for the first time. Thus, this work opens up a promising dual-modal detection method for the precise detection of Pd²⁺ in organisms and in the environment.

Keywords: Dual-modality probe; NIR-II fluorescence image; Palladium ion; Ratio photoacoustic image.