Zr-labeled ImmunoPET targeting the cancer stem cell antigen CD133 using fully-human antibody constructs.

Background: Cancer stem cells play an important role in driving tumor growth and treatment resistance, which makes them a promising therapeutic target to prevent cancer recurrence. Emerging cancer stem cell-targeted therapies would benefit from companion diagnostic imaging probes to aid in patient selection and monitoring response to therapy. To this end, zirconium-89-radiolabeled immunoPET probes that target the cancer stem cell-antigen CD133 were developed using fully human antibody and antibody scFv-Fc scaffolds.

Tetrazine-Derived Near-Infrared Dye as a Facile Reagent for Developing Targeted Photoacoustic Imaging Agents.

A new photoacoustic (PA) dye was developed as a simple-to-use reagent for creating targeted PA imaging agents. The lead molecule was prepared via an efficient two-step synthesis from an inexpensive commercially available starting material. With the dye's innate albumin-binding properties, the resulting tetrazine-derived dye is capable of localizing to tumor and exhibits a biological half-life of a few hours, allowing for an optimized distribution profile.