Tumor-Homing Biomimetic Near-Infrared II SERS Probes for Targeted Intraoperative Resection Guidance of Orthotopic Glioblastoma

In vivo optical imaging holds great potential for surgical guidance with the ability to intraoperatively identify tumor lesions in a surgical bed and navigate their surgical excision in real time. Nevertheless, its full potential remains underexploited, mainly due to the dearth of high-performance optical probes. Herein, hybrid cell membrane-biomimetic near-infrared II surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (NIR-II SERS) probes are reported for intraoperative resection guidance of orthotopic glioblastoma. A novel class of plasmonic Au nanorod (AuNR)@Au-Ag frames is developed with remarkable plasmonic properties tunable beyond 1700 nm. We demonstrate the exceptional NIR-II SERS performance both in vitro and in vivo of the biomimetic NIR-II SERS probes created with AuNR@Au-Ag frames and hybrid cell membranes. The biomimetic NIR-II SERS probes are successfully applied in an orthotopic glioblastoma mouse model for intraoperative resection guidance with complete tumor removal and improved surgical outcomes. This study presents a promising strategy for precise NIR-II SERS surgical navigation.