We report the results of a veterinary clinical trial using an NIR fluorophore targeting choline kinase (ChoKα), an enzyme overexpressed in 60% of human lung tumors, Twenty canine patients with spontaneous operable lung tumors were recruited into an owner informed consent trial. Fluorescence imaging of the lung was performed during lobectomy. Pathology revealed clear tumor margin delineation in all but 1 patient, with the missed margin occurring in a predominantly necrotic tumor. In one patient, imaging identified a local metastasis in apparently normal tissue. Second, we present the synthesis of 4,4’-quinocyanines (QCys), new low molecular weight fluorescent dyes for short wave infrared (SWIR) imaging (ex, em ~ 970, ~1020 nm). The QCy dyes exhibited low cytotoxicity in tumor cells and superior tissue penetration and resolution compared to conventional NIR-I dyes in phantoms (chicken tissue) and in vivo in nude mice.
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