Fig. 3: APE1-activated afterglow and MRI in APE1-probe solution.
a Scheme illustration for APE1-activated TA NPs-FeMnOx assembly (APE1-probe) for afterglow and MRI contrast comparison between TA NPs-Fe3O4 and TA NPs-FeMnOx (APE1-probe). b Hydrodynamic size distribution of APE1-probe before and after incubation with APE1 (10 U/mL). c−e Afterglow imaging of APE1-probe after incubating with various concentrations of APE1 (0−10 U/mL) (containing 5 µg/mL TA NPs, n = 6 independent samples). c Afterglow images. d A near-liner curve between the afterglow signal and APE1 concentration. e Signal-to-noise ratio of afterglow signal. f–l Relaxation time and MRI measurement of APE1-probe (containing 5 µg/mL TA NPs, n = 3 independent samples) treated with various concentrations of APE1. f 1/T1 and 1/T2 values. g T1 MRI and T2 MRI images. h Quantified T1 and T2 MRI signal intensity from (g). i Relaxation time mapping images of different concentrations of APE1-probe before and after APE1 (10 U/mL) incubation. j MRI signal range (ΔT1, ΔT2, and ΔT1–ΔT2 value) of APE1-probe treated with various concentrations of APE1. k Correlated curve between ΔT1–ΔT2 value and APE1 concentration. l Corresponding limit of detection under MRI signal ranges from (j). m–o MRI images and quantification of TA NPs-FeOx treated with various concentration s of APE1(0−4 U/mL) (containing 5 µg/mL TA NPs, n = 3 independent samples). m T1 MRI and T2 MRI images. n Quantified T1 and T2 MRI signals from (m). o ΔT1–ΔT2 value calculated from (n). All afterglow imaging were obtained with white light irradiation (10 mW/cm2) time of 10 s and acquisition time of 60 s. Data are presented as means ± SD. Statistical significance was determined using two-tailed Student’s t-test for pairwise comparisons, and one-way ANOVA analysis of variance for multiple groups. p values > 0.05 were considered non-significant, while p values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
