Academic Journal
Conjugated polymer intrachain donor-acceptor reconfiguration-tailored off-on NIR-II photoacoustic probes with ultralow background for high-fidelity imaging of immunotherapy-associated macrophage reprogramming.
| Title: | Conjugated polymer intrachain donor-acceptor reconfiguration-tailored off-on NIR-II photoacoustic probes with ultralow background for high-fidelity imaging of immunotherapy-associated macrophage reprogramming. |
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| Authors: | Li X; Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLOFE) & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM) and School of Flexible Electronics (Future Technologies), Nanjing Tech University (Nanjing Tech), Nanjing, 211800, China., He C; State Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (LoFE) & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing, 210023, China., Lu X; Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLOFE) & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM) and School of Flexible Electronics (Future Technologies), Nanjing Tech University (Nanjing Tech), Nanjing, 211800, China. Electronic address: iamxmlu@njtech.edu.cn., Fan Q; State Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (LoFE) & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing, 210023, China., Tang Y; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore; State Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (LoFE) & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications, 9 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing, 210023, China. Electronic address: iamyftang@njupt.edu.cn., Huang W; Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLOFE) & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM) and School of Flexible Electronics (Future Technologies), Nanjing Tech University (Nanjing Tech), Nanjing, 211800, China; Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics, Xi'an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) and Xi'an Institute of Biomedical Materials & Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710072, China. |
| Source: | Biomaterials [Biomaterials] 2026 Aug; Vol. 331, pp. 124126. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Mar 10. |
| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: Elsevier Science Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 8100316 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1878-5905 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 01429612 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Biomaterials Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: <1995-> : Amsterdam : Elsevier Science Original Publication: [Guilford, England] : IPC Science and Technology Press, 1980- |
| MeSH Terms: | Photoacoustic Techniques*/methods , Polymers*/chemistry , Immunotherapy* , Macrophages* , Cellular Reprogramming*, Animals ; Mice ; Humans ; Cell Line, Tumor |
| Abstract: | High-fidelity imaging of pro-tumorigenic M2 macrophages reprogramming into anti-tumorigenic M1 phenotypes during tumor immunotherapy is crucial for guiding personalized treatment. Off-on probes, switching from low "off" state signals to high "on" signals upon biomarker activation, enable visualization of this process. However, most existing off-on probes fail to deliver high-fidelity imaging, as even low "off" state probe signals are amplified by extensive intratumoral accumulation without biomarker activation, producing a high probe background that is indistinguishable from biomarker-triggered signals and prone to false-positive diagnoses. Here we report semiconducting polymer intrachain donor-acceptor reconfiguration-tailored off-on NIR-II (1000-1700 nm) photoacoustic probes (BDPNP) with ultralow background for high-fidelity imaging of immunotherapy-associated macrophage reprogramming. BDPNP undergoes polymer intrachain donor-acceptor reconfiguration-induced large absorption redshift from a short wavelength (no NIR-II photoacoustic background) to a long wavelength (robust NIR-II photoacoustic signals) under the macrophage reprogramming biomarker nitric oxide. BDPNP shows ultralow background even after extensive tumor accumulation without immunotherapy, but signals amplify 21.4-fold upon immunotherapy. The design clearly distinguishes biomarker-triggered signals from probe background in vivo, enabling high-fidelity mapping of macrophage reprogramming in tumor immune microenvironment. This work establishes a general strategy for ultralow-background off-on NIR-II photoacoustic probes and provides a powerful tool for high-fidelity imaging of cancer immunotherapy response. (Copyright © 2026 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Immunotherapy-associated macrophage reprogramming; Intrachain donor-acceptor reconfiguration; NIR-II photoacoustic imaging; Off-on nanoprobes; Semiconducting polymer |
| Substance Nomenclature: | 0 (Polymers) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260314 Date Completed: 20260711 Latest Revision: 20260711 |
| Update Code: | 20260711 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2026.124126 |
| PMID: | 41830766 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1878-5905 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2026.124126 |