Research Article Comparison of Folate Receptor Targeted Optical Contrast Agents for Intraoperative Molecular Imaging

License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background. Intraoperative imaging can identify cancer cells in order to improve resection; thus fluorescent contrast agents have emerged. Our objective was to do a preclinical comparison of two fluorescent dyes, EC17 and OTL38, which both target folate receptor but have different fluorochromes. Materials. HeLa and KB cells lines were used for in vitro and in vivo comparisons of EC17 and OTL38 brightness, sensitivity, pharmacokinetics, and biodistribution. In vivo experiments were then performed in mice. Results. The peak excitation and emission wavelengths of EC17 and OTL38 were 470/520 nm and 774/794 nm, respectively. In vitro, OTL38 required increased incubation time compared to EC17 for maximum fluorescence; however, peak signal-to-background ratio (SBR) was 1.4-fold higher compared to EC17 within 60 minutes