Facilitation of molecular motion to develop turn-on photoacoustic bioprobe for detecting nitric oxide in encephalitis

Nitric oxide (NO) is an important signaling molecule overexpressed in many diseases, thus the development of NO-activatable probes is of vital significance for monitoring related diseases. However, sensitive photoacoustic (PA) probes for detecting NO-associated complicated diseases (e.g., encephalitis), have yet to be developed. Herein, we report a NO-activated PA probe for in vivo detection of encephalitis by tuning the molecular geometry and energy transformation processes. A strong donor-acceptor structure with increased conjugation can be obtained after NO treatment, along with the active intramolecular motion, significantly boosting “turn-on” near-infrared PA property. The molecular probe exhibits high specificity and sensitivity towards NO over interfering reactive species. The probe is capable of detecting and differentiating encephalitis in different severities with high spatiotemporal resolution. This work will inspire more insights into the development of high-performing activatable PA probes for advanced diagnosis by making full use of intramolecular motion and energy transformation processes. Nitric oxide plays key roles in regulating many pathological processes and it is important to monitor NO and related diseases. Here, the authors report on the development of a molecular motion based NO responsive photoacoustic probe and demonstrate application in detecting encephalitis in vivo.