Active-Targeted ICG for Surgical Navigation and Fluorescence-Guided Laparoscopic Photothermal Ablation in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

  • Anal Chem. 2025 Jan 14;97(1):473-481. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.4c04575.
Lei Zhou  1 ,  Manxiong Dai  1  2 ,  Jiahao Zhou  1  2 ,  Xingyang Zhao  3 ,  Zixiong Liu  1 ,  Hao Bu  1 ,  Yang Zhou  4 ,  Yan Liao  1 ,  Hongwen Liu  1  5 ,  Wei Cheng  1 ,  Kang Chen  1
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Hunan Provincial People's Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University, Changsha, 410005, Hunan Province China.
  • 2. Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR 999078, China.
  • 3. Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
  • 4. Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Affiliated Changsha Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province 410005, China.
  • 5. Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Traditional Chinese Medicine Research, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan Province 410005, China.
PMID: 39711038 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.4c04575
Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive malignancy, but there is limited improvement in its treatment. Near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging could potentially address the clinical challenges of PDAC. Indocyanine green (ICG) has been widely used in clinical practice; however, its short half-life and lack of active targeting greatly limit its application in pancreatic surgery. In this study, the active targeting peptide KTLLPTP (which actively recognizes PDAC cell surface overexpression Plectin-1) was modified to the ICG to create the novel contrast agent ICG-PTP, which actively targets PDAC cells. It was successfully applied to the NIRF imaging of the PDAC orthotopic mice model, achieving an improved tumor signal background ratio (T/N ratio) of 4.28, compared to 2.34 in the free ICG group. Next, Fluorescence-guided excision of subcutaneous/orthotopic PDAC using ICG-PTP was performed, accurately identifying the tumor margin and significantly facilitating resection efficiency. Finally, PDAC metastases were identified, and interventional photothermal ablation (iPTA) was performed under fluorescence laparoscope guidance. ICG-PTP exhibits good biosafety and clinical transitional potential. Thus, they can provide surgeons with efficient real-time tumor information and offer new treatment strategies for metastases. Accordingly, modification of probes for clinical use and adaptation studies of current equipment are the current focus.

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