Multi-Modal Probes for Breast Cancer

Breast cancer (BrCa) is a pressing health concern, necessitating the development of effective imaging and therapeutic agents. To address this need, we designed and synthesized molecularly targeted imaging and therapeutic agents that combine visualization and treatment of tumors in real-time. Our approach involved the development of dual-modal agents, incorporating the fluorescent near infrared (NIR) dye, IRDye78, and a chlorin-based photosensitizer (PS) dye,Mesopyropheoborbide-a (mPPa), coupled to a BrCa-targeting peptide, "18-4."Additionally, we created a water-soluble, single-modal targeted PS probe forphotodynamic therapy (PDT) of BrCa for use guided by other imaging methods