Subphthalocyanine as a fluorescence imaging agent for breast tumor

•Subphthalocyanine is a fluorescent probe. In vivo study was carried out in nude mice bearing mammary cancer.•This fluorescent probe might be used in the imaging of mammary cancer.•Subphthalocyanine could be developed as dual agent.•Its dual functional is optic imaging and photodynamic therapeutic agent for the diagnosis and treatment Tri-tert-butyl-carboxyl subphthalocyanine (SubPc) was synthesized and evaluated as a fluorescence agent. Fluorescence imaging for breast tumor in vivo was performed using nude mice as models. Results indicate high uptake in tumor at 20 h. Tumor-non tumor ratio was determined as 2.25. The imaging results demonstrate the potential of this fluorescence-imaging agent in the diagnosis of breast tumor. In the future, subphthalocyanine is also developing as a dual functional, which is fluorescence imaging and as a photodynamic therapeutic agent for the treatment and diagnosis of cancer.