A Bioorthogonal Probe for Multiscale Imaging by 19F-MRI and Raman Microscopy: From Whole Body to Single Cells.

Cristina Chirizzi,Linda Chaabane,Francesca Baldelli Bombelli,Matteo Tommasini,Fabio Corsi,Pierangelo Metrangolo,Carlo Morasso,Renzo Vanna,Alessandro Aldo Caldarone

doi:10.1021/jacs.1c05250

Abstract

Molecular imaging techniques are essential tools for better investigating biological processes and detecting disease biomarkers with improvement of both diagnosis and therapy monitoring. Often, a single imaging technique is not sufficient to obtain comprehensive information at different levels. Multimodal diagnostic probes are key tools to enable imaging across multiple scales. The direct registration of in vivo imaging markers with ex vivo imaging at the cellular level with a single probe is still challenging. Fluorinated (19F) probes have been increasingly showing promising potentialities for in vivo cell tracking by 19F-MRI. Here we present the unique features of a bioorthogonal 19F-probe that enables direct signal correlation of MRI with Raman imaging. In particular, we reveal the ability of PERFECTA, a superfluorinated molecule, to exhibit a remarkable intense Raman signal distinct from cell and tissue fingerprints. Therefore, PERFECTA combines in a single molecule excellent characteristics for both macroscopic in vivo19F-MRI, across the whole body, and microscopic imaging at tissue and cellular levels by Raman imaging.

Highlights

A pressing need in modern medicine is the development of ever more sensitive imaging tools to improve early diagnosis and support personalized medicine and precision surgery.[1]
Even if Raman microscopy is largely used as a label-free technique, enabling distinction between healthy and pathological cells or tissues bypassing the use of fluorescent markers, specific Raman probes may further extend sensitivity and specificity
We showed that the superfluorinated 19fluorine-magnetic resonance imaging (19F-MRI) probe PERFECTA has a strong, specific, and stable over time Raman signal thanks to its characteristic C−F bonds, allowing a direct and reliable correlation between the two imaging modalities, which is crucial for the validation and development of imaging probes

Summary

A Bioorthogonal Probe for Multiscale Imaging by 19F‐MRI and Raman Microscopy

Cristina Chirizzi,# Carlo Morasso,# Alessandro Aldo Caldarone, Matteo Tommasini, Fabio Corsi, Linda Chaabane,* Renzo Vanna,* Francesca Baldelli Bombelli,* and Pierangelo Metrangolo. Downloaded via 54.152.35.11 on December 7, 2021 at 10:43:04 (UTC). See https://pubs.acs.org/sharingguidelines for options on how to legitimately share published articles

■ INTRODUCTION

■ CONCLUSIONS

■ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

■ REFERENCES