Chris, Effie, Mike and Gina's paper is accepted for publication in JACS!
A ratiometric acoustogenic probe for in vivo imaging of endogenous nitric oxide
Photoacoustic (PA) imaging is an emerging imaging modality that utilizes optical excitation and acoustic detection to enable high-resolution at centimeter depths. The development of activatable PA probes can expand the utility of this technology to allow for detection of specific stimuli within live-animal models. Herein, we report the design, development, and evaluation of a series of Acoustogenic Probe(s) for Nitric Oxide (APNO) for the ratiometric, analyte-specific detection of nitric oxide (NO) in vivo. The best probe in the series, APNO-5, rapidly responds to NO to form an N-nitroso product with a concomitant 91 nm hypsochromic shift. This property enables ratiometric PA imaging upon selective irradiation of APNO-5 and the corresponding product, tAPNO-5. Moreover, APNO-5 displays the requisite photophysical characteristics for in vivo PA imaging (e.g., high absorptivity, low quantum yield) as well as high biocompatibility, stability, and selectivity for NO over a variety of biologically relevant analytes. APNO-5 was successfully applied to the detection of endogenous NO in a murine lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation model at depths up to 2.5 cm. Our studies show a 1.9-fold increase in PA signal at 680 nm and a 1.3-fold ratiometric turn-on relative to a saline control.
