NIR-II Polymer Dots for Real-Time Navigating Hepatic Resection and Hepatic Ischemia–Reperfusion Injury

Real-time monitoring of hepatic diseases is of paramount importance in the field of clinical biomedicine research. Methodologies based on the navigation of fluorescent probes for enabling both preoperative visualization of hepatic status and intraoperative delineation of lesion margins have been challenging in clinical applications. This study presents a persistently luminescent NIR-II fluorescent probe, DPTQ08-IDT polymer dots (Pdots), for real-time intraoperative visualization to guide hepatic resection and hepatic ischemia-reperfusion hemodynamic observation. The NIR-II DPTQ08-IDT Pdots emitted at 1050 nm were derived from donor (D)-acceptor (A) structured polymer DPTQ08-IDT, followed by coassembly with folic acid (FA). This probe exhibits a specific binding ability to folate receptor alpha (FRα), which is overexpressed in hepatic tumor cells. Through the specific targeted binding between FA and FRα, the probe achieves rapid hepatic accumulation and robust fluorescence signals in the NIR-II region. The proposed DPTQ08-IDT Pdots provide precise intraoperative guidance for hepatic resection via NIR-II fluorescence imaging. Additionally, this probe facilitates the observation of circulatory dynamics during hepatic ischemia-reperfusion, offering valuable insights into hepatic hemodynamics. This study advances liver-targeted Pdot-based fluorescent probes in the clinical application of liver diseases.