A chiral porphyrazine (pz), H
2
[pz(
trans
-
A
2
B
2
)] (247), has been prepared that exhibits preferential in vivo accumulation in the cells of tumors. Pz 247 exhibits near-infrared (NIR) emission with
λ
> 700 nm in the required wavelength range for maximum tissue penetration. When MDA-MB-231 breast tumor cells are treated with 247, the agent shows strong intracellular fluorescence with an emission maximum, 704 nm, which indicates that it localizes within a hydrophobic microenvironment. Pz 247 is shown to associate with the lipophilic core of LDL and undergo cellular entry primarily through receptor-mediated endocytosis accumulating in lysosomes. Preliminary in vivo studies show that 247 exhibits preferential accumulation and retention in the cells of MDA-MB-231 tumors subcutaneously implanted in mice, thereby enabling NIR optical imaging with excellent contrast between tumor and surrounding tissue. The intensity of fluorescence from 247 within the tumor increases over time up to 48 h after injection presumably due to the sequestration of circulating 247/LDL complex by the tumor tissue. As the need for cholesterol, and thus LDL, is elevated in highly proliferative tumor cells over nontumorigenic cells, 247 has potential application for all such tumors.
已制备出手性卟啉(pz)H2[pz(trans-A2B2)](247),在体内表现出对肿瘤细胞的优先积累。Pz 247表现出近红外(NIR)发射,波长范围在要求的700 nm以上,以达到最大组织穿透深度。当MDA-MB-231乳腺肿瘤细胞接受247处理时,该剂量显示出强烈的胞内荧光,发射峰值为704 nm,表明它定位于一个疏水微环境内。研究表明,Pz 247与LDL的疏水性核心相结合,并主要通过受体介导的内吞作用进入细胞,积累在溶酶体内。初步的体内研究表明,247在小鼠皮下植入的MDA-MB-231肿瘤细胞中表现出优先积累和保留,从而实现了NIR光学成像,肿瘤和周围组织之间的对比度极佳。肿瘤内247的荧光强度随时间增加,48小时后注射,可能是由于肿瘤组织通过固定循环的247 / LDL复合物而产生。由于高度增殖性的肿瘤细胞需要胆固醇和LDL,因此247具有潜在的应用价值。