Engineering NIR probes to enhance affinity and clinical workflow compatibility for prostate cancer imaging.

ABSTRACT: Positive surgical margins following radical prostatectomy increase the risk of biochemical recurrence and subsequent disease progression. Fluorescence guided surgery (FGS) using targeted contrast agents has shown clinical benefits for several cancer types. However, current prostate cancer targeted imaging probes exhibit long pharmacokinetic (PK) profiles, necessitating extended waiting periods or repeated hospital visits, limiting their integration into standard clinical workflow. To overcome this critical clinical compatibility challenge, we developed an innovative tri-compartment, chemistry-driven probe design strategy. Specifically, we developed a congeneric library of near infrared (NIR) water soluble fluorescent probes incorporating: (1) a glutamic acid-urea-lysine (EuK) ligand target

SUBMITTER: Malankar GS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12458299 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature