Fig. 6: BLINK nanoprobes can image acidic tumor pHe with high specificity.
From: Cascade-heterogated proton nanotransistors for multiplex pH-interval imaging
a representative fluorescent images of the isolated organs at 24 h post-injection of BLINK[6.5, 6.9]. For pH band-pass imaging, λex = 430 nm, λem = 620 nm; for pH low-pass imaging, λex = 570 nm, λem = 620 nm. b illustration of the optimized specificity and sensitivity for tumor pHe imaging by tuning the thresholds of pHt1 and pHt2. Compared to the traditional one-gated (without pHt2) pH-responsive probes, BLINK eliminated the signals in the more acidic endocytic compartments. c heat map shows the T/L (tumor/liver) ratio of nanoprobes with different pHt1 and pHt2 (n = 3 biological independent mice). d representative pH band-pass images of the isolated organs in different groups at 24 h post-injection of nanoprobes. Bay-876 and AZM were use as inhibitors of GLUT1 and carbonic anhydrase IX to neutralize the tumor pHe. e T/L ratio of different groups in (d). Data are presented as mean ± s.d. (n = 3 biological independent mice). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). f bioimaging of orthotopic 4T1-tumor-bearing mice with luciferase reporters. g confocal images of the tissue sections for pH band-pass imaging channel. λex = 405 nm, λem = 590-650 nm. h–l in vivo imaging of different cancer types in different tumor models. h orthotopic Panc02 models (pancreatic cancer); i orthotopic CT26 models (colorectal cancer cancer); j mesentery metastases models (4T1). k orthotopic Hepa1-6 models (hepatocarcinoma). l orthotopic HepG2 models (hepatocellular carcinoma). Images were captured at 24 h post-administration of nanoprobes. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
