Self-Assembly of an Antitumor Dipeptide Induced Near-Infrared Fluorescence and Improved Stability for Theranostic Applications

It has been found that the self-assembly of nonfluorescent peptides can generate fluorescent peptide nanoparticles (f-PNPs) to perform multiple functions, including drug delivery and imaging and tracking therapeutic agents. Both pharmacologically inactive peptides and tumor-targeting peptides have been explored to construct biocompatible f-PNPs; however, the application of this technology in delivering antitumor peptides has never been reported. Herein, the self-assembly of an antitumor dipeptide, carnosine, into fluorescent carnosine nanoparticles (f-Car NPs) in the presence of zinc ions is demonstrated. The generated f-Car NPs exhibit fluorescence in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) ranges for fluorescence tracing