Imaging Tumor Acidity: pH-Low Insertion Peptide Probe for Optoacoustic Tomography
1Division Biological and Medical Physics, Physics Department, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island. reshetnyak@uri.edu.
Summary
Optoacoustic tomography detects pancreatic cancer using pH-low insertion peptide (pHLIP) conjugated to a near-infrared dye. Tumor targeting is pH-dependent, aiding cancer detection and monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical imaging
- Cancer diagnostics
- Molecular imaging
Background:
- Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a challenging cancer to detect early.
- Current diagnostic methods have limitations in sensitivity and specificity.
- Targeted molecular imaging offers potential for improved cancer detection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate optoacoustic tomography for PDAC detection.
- To assess the pH-dependent tumor targeting of pH-low insertion peptide (pHLIP).
- To investigate the conjugation of pHLIP with near-infrared fluorescent dyes for imaging.
Main Methods:
- Optoacoustic tomography (OAT) was employed for imaging.
- pH-low insertion peptide (pHLIP) was conjugated to a near-infrared fluorescent dye.
- Tumor targeting specificity was assessed based on pH dependency.
Main Results:
- Optoacoustic tomography successfully detected pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
- The targeting of the pHLIP conjugate to tumors was confirmed to be pH-dependent.
- The near-infrared dye facilitated signal detection.
Conclusions:
- Optoacoustic tomography combined with pHLIP-targeted near-infrared fluorescence is a promising approach for PDAC detection.
- The pH-dependent tumor targeting mechanism enhances specificity.
- This technique holds potential for early detection and monitoring of pancreatic and other cancers.
