Comparison of Cherenkov excited fluorescence and phosphorescence molecular sensing from tissue with external beam irradiation

Ionizing radiation delivered by a medical linear accelerator (LINAC) generates Cherenkov emission within the treated tissue. A fraction of this light, in the 600-900 nm wavelength region, propagates through centimeters of tissue and can be used to excite optical probes in vivo, enabling molecular sensing of tissue analytes. The success of isolating the emission signal from this Cherenkov excitation background is dependent on key factors such as: (i) the Stokes shift of the probe spectra; (ii) the excited state lifetime; (iii) the probe concentration; (iv) the depth below the tissue surface; and (v) the radiation dose used. Previous studies have exclusively focused on imaging phosphorescent dyes, rather than fluorescent dyes. However there are only a few biologically important phosphorescent dyes and yet in comparison there are thousands of biologically relevant fluorescent dyes. So in this study the focus was a study of efficacy of Cherenkov-excited luminescence using fluorescent commercial near-infrared probes, IRDye 680RD, IRDye 700DX, and IRDye 800CW, and comparing them to the well characterized phosphorescent probe Oxyphor PtG4, an oxygen sensitive dye. Each probe was excited by Cherenkov light from a 6 MV external radiation beam, and measured in continuous wave or time-gated modes. The detection was performed by spectrally resolving the luminescence signals, and measuring them with spectrometer-based separation on an ICCD detector. The results demonstrate that IRDye 700DX and PtG4 allowed for the maximal signal to noise ratio. In the case of the phosphorescent probe, PtG4, with emission decays on the microsecond (μs) time scale, time-gated acquisition was possible, and it allowed for higher efficacy in terms of the probe concentration and detection depth. Phantoms containing the probe at 5 mm depth could be detected at concentrations down to the nanoMolar range, and at depths into the tissue simulating phantom near 3 cm. In vivo studies showed that 5 nmol of dye was readily detected with radiation doses less than 5 cGy. Since concentration, radiation dose and depth each contribute to the level of the detected signal, it may be possible to improve any of these parameters at expense of the others. This paradigm of nanoMolar sensitivity for optical reporters in vivo introduces the concept of molecular sensing of tumors during therapy or diagnostically with biologically relevant concentrations of fluorescent reporters.