Frontiers in Chemistry (Feb 2022)

Preparation of the Biodegradable Lymphatic Targeting Imaging Agent Based on the Indocyanine Green Mesoporous Silicon System

  • Man Duan,
  • Dongmei Han,
  • Wenbin Shen,
  • Kun Chang,
  • Xinyu Wang,
  • Nan Gao,
  • Jianshi Du

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2022.847929
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10

Abstract

Read online

The lymphatic system plays a crucial role in the immune system’s recognition and response to disease. Therefore, the imaging of the lymphatic system, especially lymphatic vessels, has emerged as a valuable tool for the diagnosis of metastasis. FDA-approved small-molecule dyes, namely, indocyanine green (ICG), have been widely applied to lymphatic vessels imaging. However, due to the small physical size, such molecule-based agents show no selectivity, and rapid clearance from lymph nodes. Herein, a biodegradable lymphatic targeting imaging agent based on the ICG-mesoporous silicon system (ICG@HMONs-HA) was obtained, which not only could target lymph vessels but also had a long residence time. The reported work provides a practical way for lymph vessel fluorescence imaging and paves the way for clinical translation of nanomaterial-based tracers.

Keywords