Rational synthesis of IR820-albumin complex for NIR-II fluorescence imaging-guided surgical treatment of tumors and gastrointestinal obstruction.

IR820, an analog of FDA-approved indocyanine green, is a promising second near-infrared window (NIR-II) fluorescence probe with better NIR-II fluorescence stability and great clinical transformation potential. Moreover, its fluorescence can be further remarkably enhanced by the interaction with albumin. Therefore, it is significant to flexibly design IR820-albumin complex using endogenous or exogenetic albumin to meet the requirements of different biological applications. Herein, we show the rational synthesis of IR820-albumin complex for NIR-II fluorescence imaging-guided surgical treatment of tumors and gastrointestinal obstruction. We compared the NIR-II fluorescence imaging ability of IR820 pre-incubated with albumin or not to visualize tumors and the gastrointestinal tract and found that the formation of IR820-albumin was essential for the intense NIR-II fluorescence. For imaging-guided tumor treatment, after intravenous injection of free IR820, IR820-albumin complex can be formed due to the presence of plenty of albumin in the blood. For imaging-guided gastrointestinal obstruction removal, IR820-albumin complex should be synthesized before oral administration. NIR-II fluorescence imaging-guided surgeries were successfully realized in both tumor resection and gastrointestinal obstruction removal. Besides, toxicity assessments and confirmed the good biocompatibility of IR820. Our study provides a flexible paradigm for IR820-based NIR-II fluorescence imaging and surgical navigation towards different diseases.