journal article·2025-10

Tumor Stiffness‐Enhanced Room Temperature Phosphorescence Imaging Using Dual‐Ligand Nanoprobes

Han Cheng, Hongtao Xu, Gang Huang, Hailong Huang, Íñigo Aragón‐Niño, Boyang Peng, Xiaojuan Huang, Chongyang Zheng, Zhiyuan Zhang

Small· Volume 21· Issue 40
Publisher page

Abstract

Abstract Organic room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) materials offer high tumor‐to‐background imaging contrast owing to their long afterglow and minimal autofluorescence interference. In this work, a targeted phosphorescent nanoprobe is prepared based on a pyrene/benzophenone (PyBP) guest–host system and further functionalized it with folic acid and cyclic Arg‐Gly‐Asp peptide for enhanced tumor specificity. In oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) xenograft models, this dual‐ligand nanoprobe can help achieve a four–fivefold increase in the tumor signal over the background. Notably, the previously unexplored relationship between tumor stiffness and RTP emission is studied. Mechanical and histological analyses confirmed increased stiffness in OSCC tissues. By modulating the rigidity of tumor phantoms and treating the xenografts with collagenase, a direct correlation is revealed between tumor stiffness and phosphorescence intensity. This study suggests the effectiveness of dual targeting in improving tumor visualization using guest–host‐doped RTP nanoprobes. The findings demonstrate that the biomechanical features of the tumor microenvironment enhance phosphorescence emission, highlighting tumor stiffness as a natural amplifier for RTP imaging.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics · Luminescence and Fluorescent Materials · Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

College of Stomatology Shanghai Jiao Tong University & National Center for Stomatology & Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology Shanghai 200011 P. R. China

Department of Molten Salt Chemistry and Engineering Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai 201800 P. R. China

IdiPAZ Translational Research Group in OMFS and H&N Cancer La Paz University Hospital Madrid Spain

School of Computer Science and Engineering University of New South Wales Sydney NSW 2033 Australia

National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology Shanghai 200011 P. R. China

Department of Oral and Maxillofacial‐Head & Neck Oncology Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Shanghai 200011 P. R. China

Research Unit of Oral and Maxillofacial Regenerative Medicine Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Shanghai 200011 P. R. China

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China · Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Initiative for Innovative Medicine

References (39)

Show source-provided references
1. 10.1126/sciadv.adf675710.1126/sciadv.adf6757 ↗
2. 10.1038/s41578-020-0223-z10.1038/s41578-020-0223-z ↗
3. 10.1038/s41467-024-47992-010.1038/s41467-024-47992-0 ↗
4. 10.1039/D2CS00993E10.1039/D2CS00993E ↗
5. 10.1038/s41467-019-10033-210.1038/s41467-019-10033-2 ↗
6. 10.1002/smll.20210407310.1002/smll.202104073 ↗
7. 10.1038/s41467-021-27914-010.1038/s41467-021-27914-0 ↗
8. 10.1002/anie.20220023610.1002/anie.202200236 ↗
9. 10.1039/D1TC00403D10.1039/D1TC00403D ↗
10. 10.1002/adma.20200781110.1002/adma.202007811 ↗
11. 10.7150/thno.4957710.7150/thno.49577 ↗
12. 10.7150/thno.3719810.7150/thno.37198 ↗
13. 10.1021/acs.chemrev.0c0077910.1021/acs.chemrev.0c00779 ↗
14. 10.1016/j.jconrel.2004.08.01710.1016/j.jconrel.2004.08.017 ↗
15. 10.1021/nl052405t10.1021/nl052405t ↗
16. 10.2217/nnm-2023-024710.2217/nnm-2023-0247 ↗
17. 10.1039/C9TB02818H10.1039/C9TB02818H ↗
18. 10.1016/j.ccell.2019.01.00710.1016/j.ccell.2019.01.007 ↗
19. 10.1016/j.cell.2009.10.02710.1016/j.cell.2009.10.027 ↗
20. 10.1080/1061186X.2018.147340910.1080/1061186X.2018.1473409 ↗
21. 10.1126/science.aaz086810.1126/science.aaz0868 ↗
22. 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2010.03.00910.1016/j.oraloncology.2010.03.009 ↗
23. 10.1038/s41568-020-00329-710.1038/s41568-020-00329-7 ↗
24. 10.1002/anie.20191543310.1002/anie.201915433 ↗
25. 10.1039/C6CC09288H10.1039/C6CC09288H ↗
26. 10.1021/jacs.3c1020610.1021/jacs.3c10206 ↗
27. 10.1016/j.dyepig.2023.11193110.1016/j.dyepig.2023.111931 ↗
28. 10.1039/D2CC06601G10.1039/D2CC06601G ↗
29. 10.1002/adma.20160666510.1002/adma.201606665 ↗
30. 10.1152/physrev.00003.202310.1152/physrev.00003.2023 ↗
31. 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-15-022610.1158/1078-0432.CCR-15-0226 ↗
32. 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-17-326210.1158/1078-0432.CCR-17-3262 ↗
33. 10.1002/adom.20230242410.1002/adom.202302424 ↗
34. 10.1002/adma.20241639710.1002/adma.202416397 ↗
35. 10.1002/adom.20220150210.1002/adom.202201502 ↗
36. 10.1039/D2TC02557D10.1039/D2TC02557D ↗
37. 10.1021/acs.chemmater.2c0214510.1021/acs.chemmater.2c02145 ↗
38. 10.1016/j.cej.2024.15494910.1016/j.cej.2024.154949 ↗
39. 10.1021/jacs.1c0811810.1021/jacs.1c08118 ↗