A Near‐Infrared‐Fluorescence‐Quenched Gold‐Nanoparticle Imaging Probe for In Vivo Drug Screening and Protease Activity Determination

Abstract

Nanodiagnosis: A matrix-metalloproteinase (MMP) sensitive gold-nanoparticle (AuNP) imaging probe quenches conjugated near-infrared (NIR) dyes with high efficiency and is specifically activated by the target MMPs (see picture, left). With this system, nanomolar amounts of protease can be detected—both in vitro and in vivo. Experiments disclose an apparent positive contrast in MMPs-positive tumor-bearing mice (right). Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW under http://www.wiley-vch.de/contents/jc_2002/2008/z705240_s.pdf or from the author. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.