Targeted Near-Infrared Fluorescence Imaging of Liver Cancer using Dual-Peptide-Functionalized Albumin Particles

• DOI: 10.1021/cbmi.3c00078
• Publication Date: 2023-09-11T06:16:27Z
• Authors: Wei-Tao Dou; Chen Guo; Ling Zhu; Peng Qiu; Weijuan Kan; Yu-Fei Pan; Yi Zang; Li-Wei Dong; Jia Li; Ye-Xiong Tan; Hong-Yang Wang; Xiao-Peng He
• Keywords: Imaging agent; Human serum albumin; Fluorescence-lifetime imaging microscopy; Molecular Imaging

Fluorescence imaging is an emerging strategy for preoperative diagnosis and intraoperative resection. In particular, owing to their outstanding spatial resolution deep-tissue penetration, agents in the near-infrared (NIR)-II window (1000–1700 nm) have received intensive interest biomedical applications. However, NIR II-based targeted visualization of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) barely been developed. Here, we report construction structurally uniform, biocompatible human serum albumin (HSA)-based particles orthogonally modified with two functional peptides as a carrier delivery NIR-II HCC cell-derived solid tumor vivo. Cysteine conjugation combined host–guest chemistry enables orthogonal introduction functionally independent HSA-based nanoparticles. One these targets glypican-3 (GPC-3), specific biomarker HCC, other facilitates escape nanoparticles from macrophagic phagocytosis. Series cellular vivo assays were carried out demonstrate efficacy dual-peptide-functionalized HSA fluorescence HCC.