| Description
|
Surgery remains one of the most effective treatments for many diseases, yet it requires the precise removal of pathological tissue while preserving surrounding healthy structures such as nerves, blood vessels and tendons. During tumor resection, distinguishing cancerous tissue from healthy tissue can be extremely challenging. Incomplete tumor removal increases the risk of recurrence, whereas excessive excision of healthy tissue may lead to unnecessary complications and impaired patient recovery.
Fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS) addresses this challenge by making selected tissues fluorescent during the operation. Depending on the clinical application, fluorescent probes can be used to visualize tumors, nerves, lymphatic vessels or other critical anatomical structures, providing surgeons with real-time molecular guidance and improving surgical precision.
Developing efficient fluorescent probes, however, remains highly challenging. Ideal fluorophores must combine high brightness, excellent water solubility, low toxicity, outstanding photostability, high stability in biological media and selective accumulation in the targeted tissue. Perhaps the greatest challenge is to design probes that absorb and emit in the near-infrared (NIR, 700–1800 nm), and preferably in the second near-infrared window (NIR-II/SWIR, >1000 nm). At these wavelengths, light penetrates biological tissues much more efficiently, enabling deeper imaging and significantly improving intraoperative visualization.
Only a handful of fluorophores currently satisfy even part of these demanding requirements. Cyanine dyes, such as indocyanine green (ICG) and IRDye800CW, are among the most widely used and clinically advanced NIR fluorophores. However, they often suffer from limited photostability and challenging chemical functionalization, restricting their long-term performance and versatility.
Our research focuses on an alternative family of fluorophores: aza-BODIPYs. These molecules exhibit exceptional photostability—remaining fluorescent for several hours rather than only a few minutes for conventional cyanine dyes—together with remarkable chemical versatility. Building on this platform, we developed the first truly water-soluble aza-BODIPY fluorophores, combining excellent photophysical properties, negligible in vitro and in vivo toxicity, and efficient bioconjugation to targeting vectors such as monoclonal antibodies for selective tumor imaging.
This new family of high-performance fluorophores, named WazaBy (Water-soluble aza-BODIPY), provides a versatile platform for next-generation molecular imaging, fluorescence-guided surgery, theranostics and multimodal imaging. The scientific and technological advances achieved through this research ultimately led to the creation of the startup FLUONIR in 2026, dedicated to translating these innovative fluorescent probes toward clinical applications. |
| Collaboration(s) |
Locales : CEISAM : équipes IMF et MIMM, CRCI2NA
Nationale : IAB Grenoble, LIIC EPHE Dijon, ENSLyon, ISCR Rennes, CTM Dijon, ICMUB Dijon, LCE Besançon |
