Abstract：
Atherosclerosis (AS) is a crucial contributor to various cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), which seriously threaten human life and health. Early and accurate recognition of AS plaques is essential for the prevention and treatment of CVD. Herein, we introduce an AS-targeting nanoprobe based on near-infrared (NIR) persistent luminescence nanoparticles (PLNPs), developing a highly sensitive NIR persistent luminescence (PersL) AS plaque imaging technique and successfully realizing early AS plaque detection. The nanoprobe exhibits good monodispersity and regular spherical morphology and also owns exceptional NIR PersL performance upon repetitive irradiation by biological window light. The surface-conjugated antibody (anti-osteopontin) endowed nanoprobe excellent targeting ability to foam cells within plaques. After intravenously injected nanoprobe into AS model mice, the highly sensitive PersL imaging technique can accurately detect AS plaques prior to ultrasonography (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Specifically, the NIR PersL imaging reveals AS plaques at the earliest within 2 weeks, with higher signal-to-background ratio (SBR) up to 5.72. Based on this technique, the nanoprobe has great potential for applications in the prevention and treatment of CVD, the study of AS pathogenesis, and the screening of anti-AS drugs.
摘要：
动脉粥样硬化(AS)是导致各种心血管疾病(CVD)的重要因素,严重威胁人类的生命和健康。AS斑块的早期和准确识别对于预防和治疗CVD至关重要。在这里，我们介绍了一种基于近红外（NIR）持续发光纳米颗粒（PLNPs）的AS靶向纳米探针，开发了一种高度敏感的NIR持续发光（PersL）AS斑块成像技术，并成功实现了早期AS斑块检测。纳米探针表现出良好的单分散性和规则的球形形态，并且在生物窗口光的重复照射下也具有出色的NIRPersL性能。表面缀合的抗体(抗骨桥蛋白)赋予纳米探针对斑块内的泡沫细胞的优异靶向能力。将纳米探针静脉注射到AS模型小鼠体内后，高度敏感的PersL成像技术可以在超声检查(US)和磁共振成像(MRI)之前准确检测AS斑块.具体来说,NIRPersL成像最早在2周内显示AS斑块，具有较高的信号背景比（SBR）高达5.72。基于这种技术,纳米探针在预防和治疗CVD方面具有巨大的应用潜力，AS发病机制的研究，以及抗AS药物的筛选。
