Visually distinguishing between tumor tissue and healthy tissue within ten minutes using proteolytic probes

Debora Reinhardt; Björn ter Mors; Marc D. Driessen; Marcus Gutmann; Julian Faber; Lukas Haug; Anna-Maria Faber; Anna Herrmann; Prisca Hamm; Tessa Lühmann; Christian Linz; Lorenz Meinel

doi:10.1039/D4SD00047A

Visually distinguishing between tumor tissue and healthy tissue within ten minutes using proteolytic probes†

Debora Reinhardt,‡^a Björn ter Mors,‡^a Marc D. Driessen,‡^ab Marcus Gutmann,^a Julian Faber,^c Lukas Haug,^d Anna-Maria Faber,^de Anna Herrmann,^a Prisca Hamm,

^a Tessa Lühmann,^a Christian Linz*^bf and Lorenz Meinel

*^ag

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Institute for Pharmacy and Food Chemistry, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, DE-97074 Würzburg, Germany
E-mail: lorenz.meinel@uni-wuerzburg.de

^b Institute for Molecular Medicine I, Heinrich-Heine-University Duesseldorf, DE-40225 Duesseldorf, Germany

^c Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Plastic Surgery, University Hospital Würzburg, D-97070 Würzburg, Germany

^d Department of Pathology, University of Würzburg, DE-97080 Würzburg, Germany

^e Department of Dermatology and Venerology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

^f Department for Oral and Craniomaxillofacial and Plastic Surgery, University Hospital Cologne and Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
E-mail: christian.linz@uk-koeln.de

^g Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI), Helmholtz Institute for RNA-Based Infection Research (HIRI), DE-97080 Würzburg, Germany

Abstract

Accurately identifying tumor tissue is crucial during surgery, especially when removing head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). Our tumor-responsive probes are tailored for ex vivo diagnostics, streamlining today's complex surgical workflows and potentially enabling pathologists and surgeons to rapidly and objectively distinguish between healthy and tumor tissue. Designed based on insights from biological furin substrates and cleavage site screening, the probes detect HNSCC-associated protease activity. Within ten minutes of incubation, tumor tissue is differentiated from healthy tissue by visible fluorescence in biopsy supernatant.

Sensors & Diagnostics

Visually distinguishing between tumor tissue and healthy tissue within ten minutes using proteolytic probes†

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Visually distinguishing between tumor tissue and healthy tissue within ten minutes using proteolytic probes

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