Ultrasensitive Tyrosinase-Activated Turn-On Near-Infrared Fluorescent Probe with a Rationally Designed Urea Bond for Selective Imaging and Photodamage to Melanoma Cells

Melanoma is a highly aggressive malignancy and early monitoring and diagnosis are challenging at present. Tyrosinase is overexpressed in melanoma and regarded as an important biological marker for diagnosis and treatment. Thus, the selective and sensitive detection of tyrosinase is of great significance. To date, a few fluorescent probes have been reported for the detection of tyrosinase <i>in vitro</i> or <i>in vivo</i>. However, a highly sensitive near-infrared probe for tyrosinase monitoring is still missing. In this study, the Gibbs free energy change of different urea bonds during spontaneous hydrolysis is analyzed with the aid of chemical thermodynamic computation. On the basis of this analysis, we modified the dye methylene blue with a rationally designed urea bond to specifically create a probe, called MB1, for rapid detection of tyrosinase. Our experimental results demonstrated that MB1 can serve as a highly sensitive near-infrared responsive fluorescent probe for the monitoring and bioimaging of tyrosinase. In addition, the activated MB1 probe can effectively kill melanoma cells by photodynamic therapy. Thus, the near-infrared probe has great potential for monitoring and treating melanoma