Shanghai Fifth People's Hospital and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; The State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers and The Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Imaging Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Youpei Lin
Department of Liver Surgery and Transplantation, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Wenrui Ma
Department of Cardiac Surgery and Shanghai Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Jiannan Liu
Department of Oromaxillofacial Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
Jing Han
Department of Oromaxillofacial Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
Xiaoyi Hu
Department of Urology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Meilin Tang
Shanghai Fifth People's Hospital and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Shiqiang Yan
Shanghai Fifth People's Hospital and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; The State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers and The Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Imaging Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Department of Cardiac Surgery and Shanghai Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Chenping Zhang
Department of Oromaxillofacial Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
Qiang Gao
Department of Liver Surgery and Transplantation, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Shanghai Fifth People's Hospital and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; The State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers and The Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Imaging Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Department of Cardiac Surgery and Shanghai Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
To assure complete tumor removal, frozen section analysis is the most common procedure for intraoperative pathological assessment of resected tumor margins. However, during one operation, multiple biopsies may be sent for examination, but only few of them are made into cryosections because of the complex preparation protocols and time-consuming pathological analysis, which potentially increases the risk of overlooking tumor involvement. Here, we propose a fluorescence-based pre-screening strategy that allows high-throughput, convenient, and fast gross assessment of resected tumor margins. A dual-activatable cationic fluorescent molecular rotor was developed to specifically illuminate live tumor cells’ cytoplasm by emitting two different fluorescence signals in response to elevations in hypoxia-induced nitroreductase (a biochemical marker) and cytoplasmic viscosity (a biophysical marker), two characteristics of cancer cells. The ability of the fluorescent molecular rotor in detecting tumor cells was evaluated in mouse and human specimens of multiple tissues by comparing with hematoxylin and eosin staining. Importantly, the fluorescent molecular rotor achieved 100 % specificity in discriminating lung and liver cancers from normal tissue, allowing pre-screening of the tumor-free surgical margins and promoting clinical decision. Altogether, this type of fluorescent molecular rotor and the proposed strategy may serve as a new option to facilitate intraoperative assessment of resected tumor margins.
