Spectroscopically well-characterized RGD optical probe as a prerequisite for lifetime-gated tumor imaging.

Labeling of RGD peptides with near-infrared fluorophores yields optical probes for noninvasive imaging of tumors overexpressing ανß3 integrins. An important prerequisite for optimum detection sensitivity in vivo is strongly absorbing and highly emissive probes with a known fluorescence lifetime. The RGD-Cy5.5 optical probe was derived by coupling Cy5.5 to a cyclic arginine-glycine-aspartic acid-d-phenylalanine-lysine (RGDfK) peptide via an aminohexanoic acid spacer. Spectroscopic properties of the probe were studied in different matrices in comparison to Cy5.5. For in vivo imaging, human glioblastoma cells were subcutaneously implanted into nude mice, and in vivo fluorescence intensity and lifetime were measured. The fluorescence quantum yield and lifetime of Cy5.5 were found to be barely affected on RGD conjugation but dramatically changed in the presence of proteins. By time domain fluorescence imaging, we demonstrated specific binding of RGD-Cy5.5 to glioblastoma xenografts in nude mice. Discrimination of unspecific fluorescence by lifetime-gated analysis further enhanced the detection sensitivity of RGD-Cy5.5-derived signals. We characterized RGD-Cy5.5 as a strongly emissive and stable probe adequate for selective targeting of ανß3 integrins. The specificity and thus the overall detection sensitivity in vivo were optimized with lifetime gating, based on the previous determination of the probes fluorescence lifetime under application-relevant conditions.

Optical imaging in vivo with a focus on paediatric disease: technical progress, current preclinical and clinical applications and future perspectives.

To obtain information on the occurrence and location of molecular events as well as to track target-specific probes such as antibodies or peptides, drugs or even cells non-invasively over time, optical imaging (OI) technologies are increasingly applied. Although OI strongly contributes to the advances made in preclinical research, it is so far, with the exception of optical coherence tomography (OCT), only very sparingly applied in clinical settings. Nevertheless, as OI technologies evolve and improve continuously and represent relatively inexpensive and harmful methods, their implementation as clinical tools for the assessment of children disease is increasing. This review focuses on the current preclinical and clinical applications as well as on the future potential of OI in the clinical routine. Herein, we summarize the development of different fluorescence and bioluminescence imaging techniques for microscopic and macroscopic visualization of microstructures and biological processes. In addition, we discuss advantages and limitations of optical probes with distinct mechanisms of target-detection as well as of different bioluminescent reporter systems. Particular attention has been given to the use of near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probes enabling observation of molecular events in deeper tissue.

Target-specific nanoparticles containing a broad band emissive NIR dye for the sensitive detection and characterization of tumor development.

Current optical probes including engineered nanoparticles (NPs) are constructed from near infrared (NIR)-emissive organic dyes with narrow absorption and emission bands and small Stokes shifts prone to aggregation-induced self-quenching. Here, we present the new asymmetric cyanine Itrybe with broad, almost environment-insensitive absorption and emission bands in the diagnostic window, offering a unique flexibility of the choice of excitation and detection wavelengths compared to common NIR dyes. This strongly emissive dye was spectroscopically studied in different solvents and encapsulated into differently sized (15, 25, 100 nm) amino-modified polystyrene NPs (PSNPs) via a one-step staining procedure. As proof-of-concept for its potential for pre-/clinical imaging applications, Itrybe-loaded NPs were surface-functionalized with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and the tumor-targeting antibody Herceptin and their binding specificity to the tumor-specific biomarker HER2 was systematically assessed. Itrybe-loaded NPs display strong fluorescence signals in vitro and in vivo and Herceptin-conjugated NPs bind specifically to HER2 as demonstrated in immunoassays as well as on tumor cells and sections from mouse tumor xenografts in vitro. This demonstrates that our design strategy exploiting broad band-absorbing and -emitting dyes yields versatile and bright NIR probes with a high potential for e.g. the sensitive detection and characterization of tumor development and progression.

High-sensitivity detection of breast tumors in vivo by use of a pH-sensitive near-infrared fluorescence probe.

We investigated the potential of the pH-sensitive dye, CypHer5E, conjugated to Herceptin (pH-Her) for the sensitive detection of breast tumors in mice using noninvasive time-domain near-infrared fluorescence imaging and different methods of data analysis. First, the fluorescence properties of pH-Her were analyzed as function of pH and/or dye-to-protein ratio, and binding specificity was confirmed in cell-based assays. Subsequently, the performance of pH-Her in nude mice bearing orthotopic HER2-positive (KPL-4) and HER2-negative (MDA-MB-231) breast carcinoma xenografts was compared to that of an always-on fluorescent conjugate Alexa Fluor 647-Herceptin (Alexa-Her). Subtraction of autofluorescence and lifetime (LT)-gated image analyses were performed for background fluorescence suppression. In mice bearing HER2-positive tumors, autofluorescence subtraction together with the selective fluorescence enhancement of pH-Her solely in the tumor's acidic environment provided high contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs). This led to an improved sensitivity of tumor detection compared to Alexa-Her. In contrast, LT-gated imaging using LTs determined in model systems did not improve tumor-detection sensitivity in vivo for either probe. In conclusion, pH-Her is suitable for sensitive in vivo monitoring of HER2-expressing breast tumors with imaging in the intensity domain and represents a promising tool for detection of weak fluorescent signals deriving from small tumors or metastases.

Concept of a selective tumour therapy and its evaluation by near-infrared fluorescence imaging and flat-panel volume computed tomography in mice.

Conventional chemotherapy of cancer has its limitations, especially in advanced and disseminated disease and suffers from lack of specificity. This results in a poor therapeutic index and considerable toxicity to normal organs. Therefore, many efforts are made to develop novel therapeutic tools against cancer with the aim of selectively targeting the drug to the tumour site. Drug delivery strategies fundamentally rely on the identification of good-quality biomarkers, allowing unequivocal discrimination between cancer and healthy tissue. At present, antibodies or antibody fragments have clearly proven their value as carrier molecules specific for a tumour-associated molecular marker. This present review draws attention to the use of near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging to investigate binding specificity and kinetics of carrier molecules such as monoclonal antibodies. In addition, flat-panel volume computed tomography (fpVCT) will be presented to monitor anatomical structures in tumour mouse models over time in a non-invasive manner. Each imaging device sheds light on a different aspect; functional imaging is applied to optimise the dose schedule and the concept of selective tumour therapies, whereas anatomical imaging assesses preclinically the efficacy of novel tumour therapies. Both imaging techniques in combination allow the visualisation of functional information obtained by NIRF imaging within an adequate anatomic framework.