Functional near-infrared (NIR) fluorophores have played a major role in the recent advances in bioimaging. However, the optical and physicochemical stabilities of NIR fluorophores in the biological and physiological environment are still a challenge. Especially, the ether linkage on the meso carbon of heptamethine core is fragile when exposed to serum proteins or other amine-rich biomolecules. To solve such a structural limitation, a rigid carbon-carbon bond was installed onto the framework of ether-linked NIR fluorophores through the Suzuki coupling. The robust fluorophores replaced as ZW800-1C and ZW800-3C displayed enhanced optical and chemical stability in various solvents and a 100% warm serum environment (> 99%, 24 h). The biodistribution and clearance of C-C coupled ZW800 compounds were almost identical to the previously developed oxygen-substituted ZW800 compounds. When conjugated with a small molecule ligand, ZW800-1C maintained the identical stable form in warm serum (>98%, 24 h), while ZW800-1A hydrolyzed quickly after 4 h incubation (34%, 24 h).
Purpose To develop a family of 700 nm zwitterionic pentamethine indocyanine near-infrared fluorophores that would permit dual-channel image-guided surgery. Procedures Three complementary synthetic schemes were used to produce novel zwitterionic chemical structures. Physicochemical, optical, biodistribution, and clearance properties were compared to Cy5.5, a conventional pentamethine indocyanine now used for biomedical imaging. Results ZW700-1a, ZW700-1b, and ZW700-1c were synthesized, purified, and analyzed extensively in vitro and in vivo. All molecules had extinction coefficients ≥ 199,000 M−1cm−1, emission ≥ 660 nm, and stability ≥ 99% after 24 h in warm serum. In mice, rats, and pigs, ≥ 80% of the injected dose was completely eliminated from the body via renal clearance within 4 h. Either alone or conjugated to a tumor targeting ligand, ZW700-1a permitted dual-channel, high SBR, and simultaneous imaging with 800 nm NIR fluorophores using the FLARE® imaging system. Conclusions Novel 700 nm zwitterionic NIR fluorophores enable dual-NIR image-guided surgery.
The success of near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence to be employed for intraoperative imaging relies on the ability to develop a highly stable, NIR fluorescent, nontoxic, biocompatible, and highly excreted compound that retains a reactive functionality for conjugation to a cancer-recognizing peptide. Herein, systematic modifications to previously detailed fluorophore ZW800-1 are explored. Specific modifications, including the isosteric replacement of the O atom of ZW800-1, include nucleophilic amine and sulfur species attached to the heptamethine core. These novel compounds have shown similar satisfactory results in biodistribution and clearance while also expressing increased stability in serum. Most importantly, all of the synthesized and evaluated compounds display a reactive functionality (either a free amino group or carboxylic acid moiety) for further bioconjugation. The results obtained from the newly prepared derivatives demonstrate that the central substitution with the studied linking agents retains the ultralow background in vivo performance of the fluorophores regardless of the total net charge.
Plant extracts, a concoction of bioactive non-nutrient phytochemicals, have long served as the most significant source of new leads for anticancer drug development. Explored for their unique medicinal properties, the leaves of Piper betel, an evergreen perennial vine, are a reservoir of phenolics with antimutagenic, antitumor and antioxidant activities. Here, we show that oral feeding of betel leaf extract (BLE) significantly inhibited the growth of human prostate xenografts implanted in nude mice compared with vehicle-fed controls. To gain insights into the 'active principles', we performed a bioactivity-guided fractionation of methanolic BLE employing solvents of different polarity strengths using classical column chromatography. This approach yielded 15 fractions, which were then pooled to 10 using similar retention factors on thin-layer chromatographs. Bioactivity assays demonstrated that one fraction in particular, F2, displayed a 3-fold better in vitro efficacy to inhibit proliferation of prostate cancer cells than the parent BLE. The presence of phenols, hydroxychavicol (HC) and chavibetol (CHV), was confirmed in F2 by nuclear magnetic resonance, high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectroscopy. Further, the HC containing F2 subfraction was found to be ~8-fold more potent than the F2 subfraction that contained CHV, in human prostate cancer PC-3 cells as evaluated by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay. Removing CHV from F2 remarkably decreased the IC50 of this fraction, indicating that HC is perhaps the major bioactive constituent, which is present to an extent of 26.59% in BLE. These data provide evidence that HC is a potential candidate for prostate cancer management and warrants further preclinical evaluation.
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