Nanoprobes: “Dual Lock‐and‐Key”‐Controlled Nanoprobes for Ultrahigh Specific Fluorescence Imaging in the Second Near‐Infrared Window (Adv. Mater. 31/2018)

Effectively suppressing the interference signal of the background is still an enormous challenge for obtaining target-specific near-infrared II (NIR-II, 1.0–1.7 μm) fluorescence imaging in the complex and dynamic physiological environment. In article number 1801140, Quli Fan and co-workers report a dual-pathological-parameter cooperatively activatable NIR-II fluorescent nanoprobe using a "dual lock-and-key" strategy. This "dual lock-and-key"-controlled nanoprobe effectively reduces nonspecific activation, thus significantly suppressing the background signal, causing ultrahigh specific tumor imaging in vivo.