Conclusion

In this study, we report an effective ex vivo biopsy method for hand SCC tumor resection. Central to this method is a novel family of AIEgens, which was developed from multi-rotor imidazole derivatives, enjoying facile synthesis and wide color tunability. By incorporating various acceptor units into the D-π-A backbone, the emission window can be tuned from green (490 nm) to deep red (695 nm), almost covering the entire visible light spectrum. Optical evaluation demonstrated their typical AIE characteristics (up to 30-fold brightness enhancement). For biomedical applications, TPIT-6 was encapsulated within DSPE-PEG2000 lipids to prepared NPs, which were further coupled with anti-EGFR antibodies. After confirming the precise targeting capability of TPIT-6 NPs-Ab in cell experiments, we designed an intraoperative pathological diagnosis method based on this probe and evaluated it during SCC subcutaneous tumor resection in C3H mice. Fluorescence imaging of freshly excised marginal tissues revealed that this approach effectively allowed rapid identification of tumor boundaries within the tissue specimens. This work not only provide an innovative strategy for developing wide-emission-range AIE-active fluorophores but also broaden their potential application in intraoperative tumor biopsy.