Radionuclide-Activated Luminescence for Cancer Theranostics.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Nanotechnology
• Biophysics

Background:

• Charged particles from medical radionuclides create Cerenkov luminescence (CL), enabling phototheranostics.
• CL's ultraviolet spectrum and low photon flux limit in vivo applications for imaging and therapy.
• Radionuclide-activated luminescence (RL) uses optical probes for enhanced, red-shifted emissions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review advances in radionuclide-activated luminescence (RL) technology.
• To highlight RL probes for laser-free bioimaging and cancer phototherapy.
• To discuss challenges and prospects for integrating RL into clinical radiotheranostics and phototheranostics.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of radionuclide-activated luminescence (RL) technology.
• Analysis of various RL probes and their applications.
• Discussion of challenges and future directions in RL.

Main Results:

• RL probes amplify luminescence intensity and red-shift emissions compared to CL.
• RL enables laser-free optical bioimaging and cancer phototherapy.
• RL shows significant potential for improving tumor phototheranostic outcomes.

Conclusions:

• RL technology offers a promising strategy to enhance radionuclide-induced tumor phototheranostic outcomes.
• RL probes are effective for laser-free optical bioimaging and cancer phototherapy.
• Further development of RL is crucial for advancing clinical radiotheranostics and phototheranostics.