Design of NIR-II high performance organic small molecule fluorescent probes and summary of their biomedical applications

Near-infrared fluorescence imaging has gained a lot of attention in biomedicine by virtue of its high sen-sitivity, high specificity, and many other advantages. Moreover, near-infrared II (NIR-II) fluorescence imaging can further enhance the imaging effect by greatly reducing the absorption, scattering, and aut-ofluorescence of biological tissues, which has pushed the research on fluorescence imaging to a climax. So far, through the unremitting efforts of scholars, the development of NIR-II fluorescent probe has made remarkable progress, especially as the most advantageous organic small molecule fluorophore among flu-orescent probes. It has become the main research direction of many scholars. In this review, I summarize the latest progress of organic small molecule fluorescent probes that can be used for NIR-II imaging, including the structure of fluorescent molecules, methods to improve the performance of fluorescent molecules, the delivery of fluorescent probes in organisms, and their applications in biological imaging and tumor therapy. (c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Near-infrared fluorescence imaging has gained attention in biomedical research due to its high sensitivity and specificity. Near-infrared II (NIR-II) fluorescence imaging further enhances the imaging effect by reducing tissue absorption, scattering, and autofluorescence. Organic small molecule fluorophores have shown promising potential as fluorescent probes. This review summarizes the latest progress in organic small molecule fluorescent probes for NIR-II imaging, including molecular structure, performance improvement methods, probe delivery in organisms, and their applications in biological imaging and tumor therapy.