High-precision detection and navigation surgery of colorectal cancer micrometastases

Surgical resection is an effective treatment for colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, whereas occult metastases hinder the curative effect. Currently, there is no effective method to achieve intraoperatively diagnosis of tumor-positive lymph nodes (LNs). Herein, we adopt a near-infrared-II (NIR-II) organic donor-pi-acceptor-pi-donor probe FE-2PEG, which exhibits bright fluorescence over 1100 nm, excellent photostability, blood circulation time, and biocompatibility, to achieve high-performance bioimaging with improved temporal and spatial resolution. Importantly, the FE-2PEG shows efficient passive enrichment in orthotopic CRC, metastatic mesenteric LNs, and peritoneal metastases by enhanced permeability and retention effect. Under NIR-II fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS), the peritoneal micrometastases were resected with a sensitivity of 94.51%, specificity of 86.59%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 96.57%, and negative predictive value of 79.78%. The PPV still achieves 96.07% even for micrometastases less than 3 mm. Pathological staining and NIR-II microscopy imaging proved that FE-2PEG could successfully delineate the boundary between the tumor and normal tissues. Dual-color NIR-II imaging strategy with FE-2PEG (1100 ~ 1300 nm) and PbS@CdS quantum dots (> 1500 nm) successfully protects both blood supply and normal tissues during surgery. The NIR-II-based FGS provides a promising prospect for precise intraoperative diagnosis and minimally invasive surgery of CRC. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12951-023-02171-z.