Trends in Molecular Medicine
ReviewNear-infrared fluorescent nanoprobes for cancer molecular imaging: status and challenges
Section snippets
Molecular imaging and nanotechnology
Cancer molecular imaging is an evolving field in which diverse optical tools and strategies are used for early detection and management of tumors. This field arose from the merger of several pre-existing disciplines, such as modern cancer molecular biology, chemistry and imaging technologies. Consequently, cancer molecular imaging has created unique opportunities to study and noninvasively monitor tumor genesis, development and metastasis in vivo1, 2. It is expected to provide more
Development of NIRF nanoprobes
Although the number of NIRF nanoprobes is rapidly increasing, most of them can be classified into two major categories: downconversion (DCN) and upconversion (UCN) NIRF nanoprobes. DCN nanoprobes produce low energy fluorescence when they are excited by high energy light. The well-established DCN NIRF nanoprobes include NIRF dye-containing nanoparticles, quantum dots (QDs), SWNTs and metal nanoclusters (Figure 1). By contrast, UCN nanoprobes, which are emerging as a new class of fluorescent
NIRF nanoprobes for cancer molecular imaging
One of the major concerns for imaging with NIRF nanoparticles in living subjects is specificity. Three approaches have been applied for tumor targeting of NIRF nanoparticles: (i) the well-known EPR effect; (ii) molecular targeting via specific antigens or overexpressed receptors on the surface of cancer cells; and (iii) the chemical activation of the nanoprobes in specific tumor microenvironments (e.g. enzymatic cleavage or oxidation).
Multimodality imaging
The combination of multiple imaging modalities can yield complementary information and offers synergistic advantages over any single modality. Compared to other imaging agents, nanoparticles have the advantages of multifunctionality and enormous flexibility, allowing for the integration of multimodality reporting moieties, targeting ligands and even therapeutic components into one entity. The development of multifunctional nanomaterials with distinct properties makes it possible to accomplish
Pharmacokinetics and toxicity of NIRF nanoprobes
Comprehensive insights on how NIRF nanoprobes enter, distribute and leave living subjects are vital towards designing NIRF nanoprobes suitable for molecular imaging. To have a critical level of NIRF nanoprobes entering the tumor site, they must avoid uptake by both RES and MPS; however, many systemically injected NIRF nanoprobes can be rapidly cleared from the bloodstream by RES and MPS uptake, leading to accumulation and retention in the liver and spleen. Therefore, the development of NIRF
Challenges and perspectives
Recent and rapid development of synthesis technologies for nanomaterials has created enormous opportunities for the design of specific and sensitive NIRF nanoprobes for cancer molecular imaging. The potential to diagnose and monitor altered physiological changes of cancer in patients by using NIRF nanoprobes is coming closer to reality. However, there remain considerable challenges pertaining to applications of NIRF nanoprobes in humans. In addition to the purity, dispensability and stability
Acknowledgments
This research was partially supported by National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health (NCI/NIH) R21 CA121842 (to Z.C.), NCI In vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging Centers (ICMIC) P50 (to S.S.G.) and NCI Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence Grant U54 CA119367 (to S.S.G.).
Glossary
- Fermi wavelength
- the size scale is related to EFermi/N1/3, predicted by the free-electron model of metallic behavior (approximately 0.5 nm for gold and silver). EFermi (Fermi energy) is the energy of the highest occupied quantum state in a system of fermions at absolute zero temperature.
- Fluorescence-mediated tomography (FMT)
- a method of molecular imaging shows the distribution of a NIRF probes in the region of an animal by three-dimensional tomographic images.
- Raman signatures
- the Raman spectrum of
References (102)
- et al.
Multifunctional magnetic nanoparticles for targeted imaging and therapy
Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev.
(2008) - et al.
Near-infrared fluorescence: application to in vivo molecular imaging
Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol.
(2010) Near-infrared mesoporous silica nanoparticles for optical imaging: characterization and in vivo biodistribution
Adv. Funct. Mater.
(2009)Bioconjugated quantum dots for in vivo molecular and cellular imaging
Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev.
(2008)In vivo near-infrared fluorescence imaging
Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol.
(2003)Near-infrared fluorescent type II quantum dots for sentinel lymph node mapping
Nat. Biotechnol.
(2004)- et al.
Biosensing and imaging based on bioluminescence resonance energy transfer
Curr. Opin. Biotechnol.
(2009) Molecular imaging with single-walled carbon nanotubes
Nano Today
(2009)Protease-activated quantum dot probes
Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun.
(2005)Surface modification of nanoparticles to oppose uptake by the mononuclear phagocyte system
Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev.
(1995)
Effects of nanomaterial physicochemical properties on in vivo toxicity
Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev.
Molecular imaging in living subjects: seeing fundamental biological processes in a new light
Genes Dev.
Molecular imaging in cancer
Science
FDG-PET and beyond: molecular breast cancer imaging
J. Clin. Oncol.
Imaging in the era of molecular oncology
Nature
Molecular imaging in drug development
Nat. Rev. Drug Discov.
PET of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor expression
J. Nucl. Med.
Functional brain SPECT – the emergence of a powerful clinical method
J. Nucl. Med.
Multifunctional magnetic nanoparticles: design, synthesis, and biomedical applications
Acc. Chem. Res.
Fluorescence imaging of tumors in vivo
Curr. Med. Chem.
Near-infrared quantum dots as optical probes for tumor imaging
Curr. Top. Med. Chem.
Nanoparticles for molecular imaging – an overview
Endocrinology
Nanoparticles for photoacoustic imaging
Wiley Interdiscip. Rev. Nanomed. Nanobiotechnol.
Carbon nanotubes as photoacoustic molecular imaging agents in living mice
Nat. Nanotechnol.
Artificially engineered magnetic nanoparticles for ultra-sensitive molecular imaging
Nat. Med.
In vivo near-infrared fluorescence imaging of cancer with nanoparticles-based probes
Wiley Interdiscip. Rev. Nanomed. Nanobiotechnol.
Lanthanide-doped fluoride nanoparticles: luminescence, upconversion, and biological applications
Int. J. Nanotechnol.
Near-infrared emitting fluorophore-doped calcium phosphate nanoparticles for in vivo imaging of human breast cancer
ACS Nano
Near-infrared fluorescent labeled peptosome for application to cancer imaging
Bioconjug. Chem.
Synthesis and evaluation of a stable bacteriochlorophyll-analog and its incorporation into high-density lipoprotein nanoparticles for tumor imaging
Bioconjug. Chem.
Nanoparticulate assemblies of amphiphiles and diagnostically active materials for multimodality imaging
Acc. Chem. Res.
Long-circulating near-infrared fluorescence core-cross-linked polymeric micelles: synthesis, characterization, and dual nuclear/optical imaging
Biomacromolecules
Pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of near-infrared fluorescence polymeric nanoparticles
Nanotechnology
Semiconductor nanocrystals as fluorescent biological labels
Science
Quantum dot bioconjugates for ultrasensitive nonisotopic detection
Science
Quantum dots for live cells, in vivo imaging, and diagnostics
Science
Self-assembled nanoscale biosensors based on quantum dot FRET donors
Nat. Mater.
Semiconductor quantum dots for bioanalysis
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.
Hybrid approach to the synthesis of highly luminescent CdTe/ZnS and CdHgTe/ZnS nanocrystals
J. Am. Chem. Soc.
Engineering InAsxP1-x/InP/ZnSe III-V alloyed core/shell quantum dots for the near-infrared
J. Am. Chem. Soc.
Ternary I−III−VI quantum dots luminescent in the red to near-infrared
J. Am. Chem. Soc.
Synthesis of Cu-doped InP nanocrystals (d-dots) with ZnSe diffusion barrier as efficient and color-tunable NIR emitters
J. Am. Chem. Soc.
Probing the cytotoxicity of semiconductor quantum dots
Nano Lett.
Cytotoxicity of colloidal CdSe and CdSe/ZnS nanoparticles
Nano Lett.
Formation of high-quality I-III-VI semiconductor nanocrystals by tuning relative reactivity of cationic precursors
J. Am. Chem. Soc.
Quantum-sized carbon dots for bright and colorful photoluminescence
J. Am. Chem. Soc.
Biodegradable luminescent porous silicon nanoparticles for in vivo applications
Nat. Mater.
Fluorescent silica nanoparticles with efficient urinary excretion for nanomedicine
Nano Lett.
Noninvasive imaging of protein–protein interactions from live cells and living subjects using bioluminescence resonance energy transfer
FASEB J.
Cited by (216)
Recent progress in NIR-II fluorescence imaging-guided drug delivery for cancer theranostics
2023, Advanced Drug Delivery ReviewsActivatable fluorescent probes for real-time imaging-guided tumor therapy
2023, Advanced Drug Delivery ReviewsInorganic nanosystems for imaging diagnostics
2023, Inorganic Nanosystems: Theranostic Nanosystems, Volume 2Combining gene therapy with other therapeutic strategies and imaging agents for cancer theranostics
2021, International Journal of PharmaceuticsDendrimers based cancer nanotheranostics: An overview
2021, International Journal of Pharmaceutics
- *
These authors contributed equally.