In vivo fluorescence imaging in the second near-infrared window with long circulating carbon nanotubes capable of ultrahigh tumor uptake.

Cancer imaging requires selective high accumulation of contrast agents in the tumor region and correspondingly low uptake in healthy tissues. Here, by making use of a novel synthetic polymer to solubilize single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), we prepared a well-functionalized SWNT formulation with long blood circulation (half-life of ∼30 h) in vivo to achieve ultrahigh accumulation of ∼30% injected dose (ID)/g in 4T1 murine breast tumors in Balb/c mice. Functionalization dependent blood circulation and tumor uptake were investigated through comparisons with phospholipid-PEG solubilized SWNTs. For the first time, we performed video-rate imaging of tumors based on the intrinsic fluorescence of SWNTs in the second near-infrared (NIR-II, 1.1-1.4 μm) window. We carried out dynamic contrast imaging through principal component analysis (PCA) to immediately pinpoint the tumor within ∼20 s after injection. Imaging over time revealed increasing tumor contrast up to 72 h after injection, allowing for its unambiguous identification. The 3D reconstruction of the SWNTs distribution based on their stable photoluminescence inside the tumor revealed a high degree of colocalization of SWNTs and blood vessels, suggesting enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect as the main cause of high passive tumor uptake of the nanotubes.