Non-Covalently Pre-Assembled High-Performance Near-Infrared Fluorescent Molecular Probes for Cancer Imaging.

ABSTRACT: New fluorescent molecular probes, which can selectively target specific cell surface receptors, are needed for microscopy, in vivo imaging, and image guided surgery. The preparation of multivalent probes using standard synthetic chemistry can be a laborious process due to low reaction yields caused by steric effects. In this study, fluorescent molecular probes were prepared by a programmed non-covalent pre-assembly process that used a near-infrared fluorescent squaraine dye to thread a macrocycle bearing a cyclic arginine-glycine-aspartate peptide antagonist (cRGDfK) as a cancer targeting unit. Cell microscopy studies using OVCAR-4 (ovarian cancer) and A549 (lung cancer) cells that express high levels of the integrin αvβ3 or αvβ5 receptors, respectively, revealed a multivalent cell targeti

SUBMITTER: Shaw SK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6415912 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature