NIR-II fluorescence/photoacoustic imaging of ovarian cancer and peritoneal metastasis
S. L. Lu, Liru Xue, Meng Yang, Jingjing Wang, Yang Li, Yuxin Jiang, Xuechuan Hong, Mingfu Wu, Yuling Xiao
Abstract
Ovarian cancer is a global problem, and is typically diagnosed in the middle or late stages, with a mysterious abdominal mass or atypical abdominal metastases due to the lack of specific initial diagnostic methods. Dual-modal near-infrared II (NIR-II, 1,000–1,700 nm) fluorescence/photoacoustic imaging has great potential in early ovarian cancer diagnosis and image-guided surgery due to its high sensitivity and deep penetration. Herein, we report a novel organic NIR-II dye (H10) with excellent aggregation-induced-emission (AIE) characteristics (I/I0 > 1.6) utilizing a selenadiazolo-[3,4-f]benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole (ST)-based building block. Then, water-soluble and biocompatible H10@follicle-stimulating hormone (H10@FSH) dots with superior optical/photoacoustic properties and a tenfold increase in ovarian-specific targeting ability were synthesized. Finally, for the first time, in vivo dual-mode NIR-II fluorescent/photoacoustic (PA) imaging and image-guided surgery of patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDTX) and micro-metastatic abdominal ovarian cancer lesions were investigated. This novel strategy will establish a new method for early detection of ovarian cancer and significantly improve the prognosis of ovarian cancer patients.