Imaging Probe Delivery

Imaging Probe Delivery

The discovery and development of imaging probes marked the beginning of the interpretation of biological phenomena and is one of the most exciting innovations in life sciences. It has played a key role in the advancement of biological sciences with applications including drug research, clinical diagnostics and high-throughput screening, and has also contributed to pioneering research in cell and molecular biology. Among them, probes targeting multiple receptors have developed rapidly and have been widely used in the visualization of receptors, which can reveal the distribution and function of disease-related receptors and provide reference for the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases.

Receptor-targeted fluorescent probe. (Zhang Y, et al., 2021)

Introduction of Receptor Targeted Imaging Probes

In general, receptor-targeted fluorescent probes consist of three parts: a recognition group (ligand), a reporter group (fluorophore), and a linking group (linker). The recognition group is the core part of the receptor-targeted fluorescent probe, which determines the selectivity and specificity of the fluorescent probe. Receptors are the most widely known drug targets, therefore, receptor imaging using targeted fluorescent probes is of great significance for clinical and scientific research. Targeted fluorescent probes can be used not only for early diagnosis of diseases and for guiding surgery, but also for studying the mechanism of action of receptor-targeted drugs.

Potential applications of receptor-targeted fluorescent probes. (Zhang Y, et al., 2021)

Application of Imaging Probes

In recent years, imaging techniques such as fluorescence imaging, positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, and computed tomography (CT) based on fluorescent probes have been widely used in disease diagnosis, lesion localization, and prognosis assessment. Among them, fluorescence imaging has the advantages of high sensitivity, high temporal and spatial resolution, non-invasive, safe, fast, and low cost.

VLP as Delivery System for Imaging Probes

Chemically (covalent or non-covalent) or genetically modification of the inner lumen of virus-like particles (VLPs) and their outer surfaces can serve as delivery platforms for targeted delivery of therapeutics and other biomaterials for the delivery of small molecule drugs, chemotherapeutic agents, polymers, nucleic acids and protein/peptide drugs, etc. Among them, plant virus based VLPs are unique compared to other VLPs in that they allow non-covalent loading of small molecules.

When the capsid protein of VLP is used as a contrast agent, it can be applied to the diagnosis of any disease. In addition to acting as a contrast agent for medical imaging, the protein capsid of VLP can also be used as a nanocarrier to achieve targeted delivery of imaging probes, enabling drug research and high-throughput screening.

How We can Help

As a global leader in the production and application of VLPs from VLPlant^TM platform, CD BioSciences leverages its expertise to help our customers deliver fluorescent probes for disease diagnosis and receptor targeting. We are good at tailoring our services to the needs of our clients. Please contact us if you are interested.

Our capabilities include but are not limited to:

Quote and Ordering

Reference

1. Zhang Y.; et al., Design and Application of Receptor-Targeted Fluorescent Probes Based on Small Molecular Fluorescent Dyes. Bioconjug Chem. 2021, 32:4-24.