Maged Henary
Georgia State University, USA
Title: Microwave-assisted synthesis of a library of near-infrared molecular probes for in vivo imaging
Biography
Biography: Maged Henary
Abstract
A microwave-assisted method for the synthesis of a library of near-infrared (NIR) molecular probes such as symmetrical pentamethine cyanines and their corresponding precursors. This class of compounds is advantageous for in vivo imaging because of the low absorption of biological molecules in the NIR window. The microwave synthesis drastically reduced the reaction time for dye synthesis from days to min, as well as producing increased yields (89-98%) to the conventional heating method (18-64%). Also in this study, we demonstrate that it is possible to create tissue-specific (thyroid, salivary, and adrenal glands) near-infrared fluorophores using the inherent chemical structure. Thus, a single compact molecule performs both targeting and imaging.