NIR-II Fluorescent Protein Created by In Situ Albumin-Tagging for Sensitive and Specific Imaging of Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption.

ABSTRACT: Imaging albumin in vivo is a reliable strategy to visualize blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption by detecting the dye-labeled albumin leaking into brain parenchyma. Although Evans Blue (EB) and indocyanine green (ICG) dyes have been applied to assess BBB impairment, their naked-eye observation or near-infrared-I (NIR-I) imaging window limit the imaging sensitivity and contrast for this promising "albumin-based" strategy. Herein, an albumin-specific tagged near-infrared-II (NIR-II) probe is engineered as a chromophore to construct fluorescent proteins (FPs) in situ for assessing BBB disruption in stroke. The optimized chromophore, C7-1080, can covalently bind to albumin through nucleophilic substitution, forming FPs without adjuvant. Notably, the albumin effectively acts as a brightness enh

SUBMITTER: Xu J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12021084 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature