Proteases are enzymes
capable of catalyzing protein breakdown,
which is critical across many biological processes. There are several
families of proteases, each of which perform key functions through
the degradation of specific proteins. As our understanding of cancer
improves, it has been demonstrated that several proteases can be overactivated
during the progression of cancer and contribute to malignancy. Optical
imaging systems that employ near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probes
to detect protease activity offer clinical promise, both for early
detection of cancer as well as for the assessment of personalized
therapy. In this Review, we review the design of NIR probes and their
successful application for the detection of different cancer-associated
proteases.
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