title: Review on near-infrared heptamethine cyanine dyes as theranostic agents for tumor imaging, targeting, and photodynamic therapy.
abstract: A class of near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) heptamethine cyanine dyes that are taken up and accumulated specifically in cancer cells without chemical conjugation have recently emerged as promising tools for tumor imaging and targeting. In addition to their fluorescence and nuclear imaging-based tumor-imaging properties, these dyes can be developed as drug carriers to safely deliver chemotherapy drugs to tumors. They can also be used as effective agents for photodynamic therapy with remarkable tumoricidal activity via photodependent cytotoxic activity. The preferential uptake of dyes into cancer but not normal cells is co-operatively mediated by the prevailing activation of a group of organic anion-transporting polypeptides on cancer cell membranes, as well as tumor hypoxia and increased mitochondrial membrane potential in cancer cells. Such mechanistic explorations have greatly advanced the current application and future development of NIRF dyes and their derivatives as anticancer theranostic agents. This review summarizes current knowledge and emerging advances in NIRF dyes, including molecular characterization, photophysical properties, multimodal development and uptake mechanisms, and their growing potential for preclinical and clinical use.
authors.affiliation: Fourth Military Medical University, Laboratory Animal Center, 169 West Changle Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, China.
authors.forename: Changhong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Uro-Oncology Research Program, Department of Medicine, Los Angeles, California 90048, United States.
authors.forename: Jason Boyang
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: University of Virginia, Department of Radiology, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908, United States.
authors.forename: Dongfeng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002232:Carbocyanines / Q000378:metabolism*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D010778:Photochemotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D000068936:Theranostic Nanomedicine / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D002232:Carbocyanines; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes