Nitric oxide-activatable NIR-II organic small molecule for fluorescence imaging-guided synergistic photodynamic and photothermal therapy.

ABSTRACT: Precise cancer diagnosis and treatment are vital for reducing mortality. The development of activatable second near-infrared window (NIR-II) imaging-guided tumor phototherapy strategies with excellent tumor specificity and antitumor effects remains a major challenge. In this work, we design and synthesize a D-π-A-π-D organic small molecule CTBA that can be effectively activated by nitric oxide. CTBA exhibits absorption and emission in the visible region. Interestingly, after reacting with excess nitric oxide in the tumor microenvironment, the probe can be converted into CTBT with a new structure, which exhibits excellent NIR-II fluorescence, and photodynamic and photothermal properties under 808 nm excitation. Notably, this activatable probe pioneers the convergence of three critical featu

SUBMITTER: Zhang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12287763 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature