Optimizing Energy Transfer in Nanostructures Enables In Vivo Cancer Lesion Tracking via Near-Infrared Excited Hypoxia Imaging.

To explore highly sensitive and low-toxicity techniques for tracking and evaluation of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), one of the most mortal tumors in the world, it is utterly imperative for doctors to select the appropriate treatment strategies. Herein, developing near-infrared (NIR) excited nanosensors, in which the donor and acceptor pairs within a biological metal-organic framework (bio-MOF) matrix are precisely controlled to rationalize upconversion Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), is suggested for detecting the O concentration inside tumors with reduced signal disturbance and health detriment. Under NIR excitation, as-fabricated core/satellite nanosensors exhibit much improved FRET efficiency and reversible hypoxic response with high sensitivity, which are effective both in vitro and in vivo (zebrafish) for cycling normoxia-hypoxia imaging. Significantly, combined with a reliable preclinical genetically engineered murine model, such nanosensors successfully realize tracking of in vivo NSCLC lesions upon clear and gradient hypoxia signals without apparent long-term biotoxicity, illustrating their exciting potential for efficient NSCLC evaluation and prognosis.