Fig. 2: Effective SLN biopsy in nude mice and rabbit breast via folic-AIEgen based image-guided operation.

a Representative process of folic-AIEgen guided LN dissection in nude mice (n = 3). b Images of the lymphatic vessels (red arrows) and SLNs (red arrowheads) under white light and a handheld UV lamp. i-Before injection, ii-30 seconds after injection of folic-AIEgen (25 µL, 40 µg/mL) into the front footpad of mice, iii-Dissection of the LN. c Photographs of draining LN and contralateral LN obtained from IVIS system and digital camera. d Quantitative analysis of the fluorescence intensity of draining LNs and contralateral LN. Data are means ± SD, n = 3, Student’s two-tailed t test, ***P < 0.001. e Representative process of folic-AIEgen guided SLNs dissection from the armpit of rabbit (n = 3). f Images of the lymphatic vessels (red arrows) and SLNs (red arrowheads) under white light and a handheld UV lamp. i and ii-Before injection, iii-3 min after injection of folic-AIEgen (500 µL, 40 µg/mL) around the second papilla of rabbit, iv-Separation along the lymph vessel, v and vi- Dissection of the SLN. g Photographs of draining LN and contralateral LN obtained from the digital camera under white and UV light. h Histological analysis of the draining LN and contralateral LN. Representative bright field and photoluminescence images at 488 nm excitation of frozen sections. Histological changes were evaluated by H&E staining. Scale bars = 100 μm. The experiment was repeated at least three times.