title: Peptide-based molecular beacons for cancer imaging and therapy.
abstract: Peptide-based molecular beacons are Förster resonance energy transfer-based target-activatable probes. They offer control of fluorescence emission in response to specific cancer targets and thus are useful tools for in vivo cancer imaging. With our increasing knowledge about human genome in health and disease, peptide-based "smart" probes are continually developed for in vivo optical imaging of specific molecular targets, biological pathways and cancer progression and diagnosis. A class of fluorescent photosensitizers further extends the application of peptide beacons to cancer therapeutics. This review highlights the applications of peptide beacons in cancer imaging, the simultaneous treatment and response monitoring and smart therapeutics with a focus on recent improvements in the design of these probes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biophysics, Ontario Cancer Institute, University of Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Tracy W B
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D031541:Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer; D006801:Humans; D057054:Molecular Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D015335:Molecular Probes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D015335:Molecular Probes; D010455:Peptides; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents