vpm-chloride and Medulloblastoma

Deep-penetration fluorescence imaging in the second near-infrared (NIR-II) window heralds a new era of clinical surgery, in which high-resolution vascular/lymphatic anatomy and detailed cancerous tissues can be visualized in real time. Described here is a series of polymethine-based semiconducting polymers with intrinsic emission maxima in the NIR-IIa (1300-1400 nm) window and absorption maxima ranging from 1082 to 1290 nm. These polymers were prepared as semiconducting polymer dots (Pdots) in aqueous solutions with fluorescence quantum yields of 0.05-0.18 %, and they demonstrate promising applications in noninvasive through-skull brain imaging in live mice with remarkable spatial resolution as well as signal-to-background contrast. This study offers a platform for future design of NIR-IIa or even NIR-IIb emitting Pdots.

Topics: Animals; Brain; Contrast Media; Density Functional Theory; Fluorescent Dyes; Indoles; Infrared Rays; Medulloblastoma; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Optical Imaging; Quantum Dots; Semiconductors; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared