A Glucosylated BODIPY Uses the GLUT Channel to Target Cancer Cells in <i>In Vitro</i> and <i>In Vivo</i> Models
The conjugation of fluorescent probes to tumor-targeting molecules represents a promising strategy for the development of precision cancer bioimaging and treatment. Among the different tumor-targeting strategies, the use of d-glucose residues, which exploit the high energy demand of cancer cells, can enable recognition by a broad spectrum of tumors, thus overcoming limitations related to cancer heterogeneity. In this study, we combined the distinctive optical properties of BODIPY-based probes with the known tumor-targeting abilities of d-glucose. We report on the characterization of a glucosylated BODIPY, named <b>Glc-BODIPY</b>, and its ability to target different cancer cell types in both <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> models.
Authors
- Cosetta Ravelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3554-6711)
- Chiara Tobia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0985-7356)
- Stefano Cicchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4913-6414)
- Debora Berti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8967-560X)
- Roberto Ronca (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8979-7068)
- Jacopo Tricomi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7194-5728)
- Jacopo Cardellini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1180-2709)
- Marta Turati (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7139-3820)
- Luca Mignani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9958-1225)
- Barbara Richichi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7093-9513)
- Giacomo Biagiotti
Institutions
- Brescia University (US)
- University of Florence (IT)
- University of Brescia (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ACS Omega
- Published
- 2025-11-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.5c06410
- Primary Topic
- Luminescence and Fluorescent Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00