RGD conjugated switch on near infrared-fluorophores for fluorescence guided cancer surgeries

The development by Paul Ehrlich and others of colorimetric tissue staining with synthetic dyes is recognised as marking the beginning of modern medical scientific research. A century and a half later, molecular fluorescence imaging as a technique to visualise specific regions of live cellular or whole organisms is central to many biomedical research programs. Within the imaging spectral range, the near infrared (NIR) region (700-1,000 nm) provides optimal wavelengths for reduced light toxicity, avoidance of endogenous chromophore absorbance and auto-fluorescence. An exciting new potential of NIR fluorescence imaging is that the tools developed for cellular and in vivo small animal research could be translatable to human surgical medicine.