Water-Soluble Aza-BODIPYs: Biocompatible Organic Dyes for High Contrast <i>In Vivo</i> NIR-II Imaging

Abstract

A simple NIR-II emitting water-soluble system has been developed and applied <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i>. <i>In vitro</i>, the fluorophore quickly accumulated in 2D and 3D cell cultures and rapidly reached the tumor in rodents, showing high NIR-II contrast for up to 1 week. This very efficient probe possesses all the qualities necessary for translation to the clinic as well as for the development of NIR-II emitting materials.