A hypochlorite-activatable persistent luminescence nanoprobe for assisted tumor resection†

Surgical resection is widely recognized as one of the most effective treatments for cancer. However, it requires precise and convenient visualization of tumor boundaries to assist surgeons. Persistent luminescence nanoparticles (PLNPs) exhibit bright and long-lasting afterglow, non-autofluorescence interference, and excellent photostability, making them ideal candidates for surgical navigation. Nevertheless, the currently used persistent luminescence tumor imaging method suffers from the issue of ambiguous tumor boundaries. Hence, a hypochlorite-responsive near-infrared (NIR) absorber A690 was bonded to ZnGa₂O₄:Cr³⁺ (ZGC) PLNPs coated with DSPE-mPEG₂₀₀₀ (ZGC@P&A). In normal tissue, ZGC@P&A was quenched due to the Förster resonance energy transfer from ZGC PLNPs to A690 molecules. Upon uptake by cancer cells, ZGC@P&A was turned “on” through the oxidation of A690 by high levels of hypochlorite. Compared to non-responsive ZGC@P, ZGC@P&A not only effectively eliminated interference from peripheral normal tissue afterglow but also accurately aligned with the tumor boundary within 30 minutes of peritumoral injection. Under the guidance of ZGC@P&A, the tumor was completely excised with minimal removal of surrounding tissue. Hypochlorite-activatable PLNPs greatly enhance the credibility of imaging, opening up new perspectives for a variety of clinical diagnostic applications.