Molecular Engineering of Corrole Radicals by Polycyclic Aromatic Fusion: Towards Open-Shell Near-Infrared Materials for Efficient Photothermal Therapy.

Open-shell radicals are promising near-infrared (NIR) photothermal agents (PTAs) owing to their easily accessible narrow band gaps, but their stabilization and functionalization remain challenging. Herein, highly stable π-extended nickel corrole radicals with [4n+1] π systems are synthesized and used to prepare NIR-absorbing PTAs for efficient phototheranostics. The light-harvesting ability of corrole radicals gradually improves as the number of fused benzene rings on ß-pyrrolic locations increases radially, with naphthalene- and anthracene-fused radicals and their one-electron oxidized [4n] π cations exhibiting panchromatic visible-to-NIR absorption. The extremely low doublet excited states of corrole radicals promote heat generation via nonradiative decay. By encapsulating naphthocorrole radicals with amphiphilic polymer, water-soluble nanoparticles Na-NPs are produced, which exhibit outstanding photostability and high photothermal conversion efficiency of 71.8 %. In vivo anti-tumor therapy results indicate that Na-NPs enable photoacoustic imaging of tumors and act as biocompatible PTAs for tumor ablation when triggered by 808 nm laser light. The "aromatic-ring fusion" strategy for energy-gap tuning of corrole radicals opens a new platform for developing robust NIR-absorbing photothermal materials.

Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein (Ox-LDL)-Triggered Double-Lock Probe for Spatiotemporal Lipoprotein Oxidation and Atherosclerotic Plaque Imaging.

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL), especially oxidative modified LDL (Ox-LDL), is the key risk factor for plaque accumulation and the development of cardiovascular disease. Herein, a highly specific Ox-LDL-triggered fluorogenic-colorimetric probe Pro-P1 is developed for visualizing the oxidation and aggregation progress of lipoproteins and plaque. A series of green fluorescent protein chromophores with modified donor-acceptor structures, containing carbazole as an electron donor and various substituents including pyridine-vinyl (P1), phenol-vinyl (P2), N, N-dimethylaniline-vinyl (P3), and thiophene-vinyl (P4), have been synthesized and evaluated. Emission spectroscopy and theoretical calculations of P1-P4 indicate that P1 shows enhanced green fluorescence (λem = 560 nm) by inhibiting its twisted intramolecular charge transfer in the presence of Ox-LDL. This feature allows the selection of P1 as a sensitive probe to directly visualize ferroptosis and Cu2+ -mediated LDL oxidative aggregation via in situ formation of fluorophore-bound Ox-LDL in living cells. The red-emissive probe Pro-P1 (λem = 660 nm) is prepared via borate protection of P1, which can be cleaved into P1 under high expression of HOCl and Ox-LDL condition at the lesion site, resulting in enhanced green emission. The plaque area and size with clear boundaries can be delineated by colorimetric fluorescence imaging and fluorescence lifetime imaging with precise differentiation.

Small-Molecule Photoacoustic Imaging Probe with Aggregation-Enhanced Amplitude for Real-Time Visualization of Acute Kidney Injury.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) has become a growing issue for patients with the extensive use of all kinds of drugs in clinic. Photoacoustic (PA) imaging provides a noninvasive and real-time imaging method for studying kidney injury, but it has inherent shortages in terms of high background signal and low detection sensitivity for exogenous imaging agents. Intriguingly, J-aggregation offers to tune the optical properties of the dyes, thus providing a platform for developing new PA probes with desired performance. In this study, a small-molecule PA probe (BDP-3) was designed and synthesized. We serendipitously discovered that BDP-3 can transform into renal clearable nanoaggregates under physiological conditions. The hydrodynamic diameter of the BDP-3 increased from 0.64 ± 0.11 to 3.74 ± 0.39 nm when the content of H2O increased from 40 to 90%. In addition, it was surprising that such a transforming process can significantly enhance its PA amplitude (2.06-fold). On this basis, PA imaging with BDP-3 was applied as a new method for the noninvasive detection of AKI induced by anticancer drugs, traditional Chinese medicine, and clinical contrast agents in animal models and exhibited higher sensitivity than the conventional serum index test, demonstrating great potential for further clinical diagnostic applications.