Bioorthogonal Molecular Turn-On Optical Imaging and Therapy

Bioorthogonal chemistry was introduced in the context of the molecular turn-on optical imaging and therapy over 20 years. A pivotal innovation in this field is the development of bioorthogonal turn-on optical probes (BioTOPs), which integrate bioorthogonal handles with imaging agents to leverage selective bioorthogonal reactions for activating optical signals, enabling high-contrast and real-time visualization of biomolecules in living systems. The precise spatiotemporal control over signal activation also enables minimal off-target therapy. This review summarizes recent advances in the design and application of BioTOPs. We first discuss the two-step pretargeted strategy of bioorthogonal turn-on optical…

• NR
  National Research Foundation Singapore

  Award: NRF-NRFI07-2021-000
• MO
  Ministry of Education - Singapore

  Awards: MOE-T2EP30220-0010, RG125/19, MOE-T2EP30221-0004, 2019-T1-002-045