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Published on: February 7, 2018
ROS-Activatable J‑Aggregate Formation of a NIR-II Fluorescent Sensor for Detecting and Imaging Oxidative
Rui Chen1, Chaobang Zhang1, Fang Zeng1
1State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Luminescence from Molecular Aggregates, School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China.
Researchers developed a new activatable near-infrared-II fluorescent sensor for imaging oxidative stress. This sensor uses reactive oxygen species (ROS) to trigger J-aggregate formation, enabling high-contrast deep-tissue disease diagnostics.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Optical Imaging
- Chemical Biology
Background:
- J-aggregates offer unique optical properties valuable for bioimaging.
- Developing activatable J-aggregate sensors is challenging due to limited dyes for in situ assembly triggered by biological events.
Purpose of the Study:
- To create an activatable near-infrared-II (NIR-II) fluorescent sensor for high-contrast imaging of oxidative stress.
- To leverage reactive oxygen species (ROS)-triggered J-aggregate formation for sensing applications.
Main Methods:
- Designed and synthesized a heptamethine cyanine dye with J-aggregation propensity.
- Utilized the dye's reduced, nonfluorescent hydrocyanine form as a probe activated by hydroxyl radicals.
- Investigated ROS-triggered J-aggregate formation and NIR-II fluorescence emission at 1050 nm.
Main Results:
- The sensor demonstrated a nanomolar detection limit for ROS with high specificity and excellent aqueous stability.
- Achieved rapid response times and superb biocompatibility.
- Successfully performed in vivo imaging in mouse models of pneumonia and hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury, mapping ROS production for deep-tissue visualization.
Conclusions:
- The developed sensor enables high-contrast, deep-tissue imaging of oxidative stress via ROS-triggered J-aggregate formation.
- This J-aggregation-based probe shows significant potential for advanced disease diagnostics and redox biology studies.
