ZnDPA-conjugated cyanine probes for targeted near-infrared fluorescence and photoacoustic imaging of drug-induced liver injury in vivo

Abstract Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) arising from chemicals or therapeutic drugs is mainly responsible for liver diseases, which makes the early diagnosis of DILI particularly important. Herein, we developed a targeted probe of zinc-bis(dipicolylamine) conjugated cyanine dye (Cy7-ZnDPA), in which ZnDPA would target phosphatidylserine (PS) on the surface of apoptotic cells of DILI. Moreover, Cy-ZnDPA could overcome the tissue penetration depth and precisely locate the lesion area by means of high-resolution fluorescence and photoacoustic imaging in the DILI mice model. Cy-ZnDPA is expected to be a powerful probe for the diagnosis of other apoptotic related physiological and pathological processes.