Real‐Time Apoptosis Imaging: A Quenched Annexin V‐Fluorophore for the Real‐Time Fluorescence Imaging of Apoptotic Processes In Vitro and In Vivo (Adv. Sci. 24/2020)

In article number 2002988, Yongdoo Choi, Hyonchol Jang, and co‐workers developed a quenched annexin V‐near‐infrared (NIR) fluorophore conjugate (Q‐annexin V) as the first OFF‐ON‐type NIR fluorescence probe for real‐time apoptosis imaging. The NIR fluorescence of Q‐annexin V is quenched in the extracellular region but can be selectively turned on upon binding to apoptotic cells, thereby enabling the real‐time monitoring of dynamic and topological apoptosis in 2D and 3D cell‐culture systems. Its potential utility in vivo was also confirmed in animal models of cisplatin‐induced acute kidney injury and cancer immunotherapy. [Image: see text]