Activatable aptamer probe for contrast-enhanced in vivo cancer imaging based on cell membrane protein-triggered conformation alteration.

ABSTRACT: Aptamers have emerged as promising molecular probes for in vivo cancer imaging, but the reported "always-on" aptamer probes remain problematic because of high background and limited contrast. To address this problem, we designed an activatable aptamer probe (AAP) targeting membrane proteins of living cancer cells and achieved contrast-enhanced cancer visualization inside mice. The AAP displayed a quenched fluorescence in its free state and underwent a conformational alteration upon binding to target cancer cells with an activated fluorescence. As proof of concept, in vitro analysis and in vivo imaging of CCRF-CEM cancer cells were performed by using the specific aptamer, sgc8, as a demonstration. It was confirmed that the AAP could be specifically activated by target cancer cells with a dr

SUBMITTER: Shi H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3054025 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature