LAUSR

Accurately evaluating tumor response to immunotherapy is clinically relevant. However, non-invasive, real-time visualization techniques to evaluate tumor immunotherapy are still lacking. Herein, we report a smart responsive fluorescence-MR dual-modal nanoprobe, QM(GP)-MZF(CP), that can be targeted for cleavage by the cytotoxic T cell activation marker granzyme B and the apoptosis-related marker cysteine-aspartic acid-specific protease 3 (Caspase-3). The probe used quinoline-malononitrile (QM), an aggregation-induced emission luminogen, and Mn-Zn ferrite magnetic nanoparticles (MZF-MNPs), a T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) contrast agent, as imaging molecules that were linked with the substrate peptides specific to granzyme B and Caspase-3. Therefore, both granzyme B and Caspase-3 could target and cleave the substrate peptides in QM(GP)-MZF(CP). Therefore, both granzyme B and Caspase-3 could target and cleave the substrate peptides in QM(GP)-MZF(CP). Via aggregation-induced fluorescence imaging of QM and the aggregation-induced T2WI-enhanced imaging effect of MZF-MNPs, the status of T cells after tumor immunotherapy and the subsequent triggering of tumor cell apoptosis could be determined to identify tumor responsiveness to immunotherapy and thereby evaluate the effectiveness of this therapy in the early stage of treatment. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.