Rapid and Accurate Detection of Lymph Node Metastases Enabled through Fluorescent Silicon Nanoparticles-Based Exosome Probes
Junfei Han, Lu Zhang, Mingyue Cui, Yuanyuan Su, Yao He
Abstract
Sentinel lymph node (SLN) detection is of great significance for the prevention and treatment of cancer metastasis. Herein, we introduce silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs)-based exosome (SiNPs@EXO) probes for distinguishing normal and metastatic SLNs. Typically, SiNPs are suitable for stable and long-term tracking of exosomes, while cancer cell-driven exosomes with a tumor-homing effect allow targeting metastatic SLNs. Remarkably, the as-fabricated SiNPs@EXO has the ability to label metastatic SLNs, i.e., the fluorescence signal in SLNs reaches the peak within 0.5 h and remains up to 3 h. Comparatively, SLN tracers (e.g., indocyanine green) used clinically can illuminate SLNs 1 h post injection, whereas the signal witnesses a sharp fall then. Moreover, evaluations based on preclinical data confirm the negligible side effects of the SiNPs@EXO. Our results provide new tools for targeting SLNs and predicting lymphatic metastasis of tumor.