title: Activatable Optical Probes for the Detection of Enzymes.
abstract: The early detection of many human diseases is crucial if they are to be treated successfully. Therefore, the development of imaging techniques that can facilitate early detection of disease is of high importance. Changes in the levels of enzyme expression are known to occur in many diseases, making their accurate detection at low concentrations an area of considerable active research. Activatable fluorescent probes show immense promise in this area. If properly designed they should exhibit no signal until they interact with their target enzyme, reducing the level of background fluorescence and potentially endowing them with greater sensitivity. The mechanisms of fluorescence changes in activatable probes vary. This review aims to survey the field of activatable probes, focusing on their mechanisms of action as well as illustrating some of thein vitroandin vivosettings in which they have been employed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, 185 Berry Street, Suite 350, Box 0946, San Francisco, CA, 94107, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Drake
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Ella F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Jones
keywords: Activatable; Enzyme; Fluorescent; Optical; Probe