Rhodamine-deoxylactam functionalized poly[styrene-alter-(maleic acid)]s as lysosome activatable probes for intraoperative detection of tumors

Optical probes that could illuminate tumors are promising tools to enable surgical ablation of tumor colonies that are elusive to identify by conventional visual inspection. Polymeric nanoprobes, comprised of a biocompatible poly[styrene-alter-(maleic acid)] carrier and pH responsive rhodamine-deoxylactam, preferentially accumulate in tumors in mice and are activated by lysosomal acidity into highly fluorescent species. The favorable characteristics of passive tumor targeting, e.g. high tumor to normal tissue ratio, long retention time in tumors and low in vivo toxicity, suggest the utility of the nanoprobes in fluorescence guided intraoperative detection of different tumors.