A Chemical Probe for Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen for Real-Time Raman Imaging of Prostate Cancer Cells

Intraoperative detection of localized prostate cancer is challenging with direct consequences for long-term, successful treatment of the disease. Optical imaging techniques have been incorporated into the surgical environment, often using theranostic agents to rapidly and accurately determine the tumor margin. Here, we develop the first small molecule probe that specifically targets prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) for detection using stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy. The incorporation of an alkyne tag into the glutamate-ureido-lysine moiety, which has high affinity for PSMA, yielded the probe PSMA-BADY. The selectivity and specificity of the probe were established in prostate cancer cell models with known PSMA expression profiles, indicating the potential of PSMA-BADY for localizing PSMA in multicellular environments using SRS microscopy.