Fluorescent NIRF activatable probes for disease detection

1. A nanoparticle comprising:

a monomer represented by formula:

wherein n is 10 to 200;

at least one cleavable spacer comprising at least one fluorescence activation site, wherein the cleavable spacer is attached at one end to the nanoparticle; and

at least two dyes of at least two types,

wherein the at least two types comprise an energy donor type and an energy acceptor type,

wherein at least one dye of one type is embedded in the nanoparticle and the cleavable spacer has at least one dye of the other type attached, and

wherein the at least two dyes comprise at least one matched pair capable of fluorescence resonance energy transfer.

2. The nanoparticle of claim 1 , wherein the nanoparticle is loaded with the energy donor type of dye, and wherein the dye attached to the cleavable spacer is the energy acceptor type of dye.

3. The nanoparticle of claim 1 , wherein the nanoparticle is loaded with the energy acceptor type of dye, and wherein the dye attached to the cleavable spacer is the energy donor type of dye.

4. The nanoparticle of claim 1 , wherein the cleavable spacer is selected from the group consisting of DNA, RNA, carbohydrate, amino acid, peptide, protein, polysaccharide, nucleotide, oligonucleotide, nucleic acid, lipid, phospholipids, lipoprotein, and lipopolysaccharide.

5. The nanoparticle of claim 1 , wherein the fluorescence activation site can be cleaved by a protease.

6. The nanoparticle of claim 5 , wherein the protease is selected from the group consisting of trypsin, cathepsin D, cathepsin B, cathepsin H, cathepsin L, cathepsin S, urokinase, thrombin, plasmin, plasminogen activator, prostate specific antigen, a matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), a kallikrein, a human kallikrein, or human kallikrein 3, a caspase, a caspase 3, a caspase 8, a granzyme B, a calpain.

7. The nanoparticle of claim 1 , wherein the energy acceptor type of dye comprises one of the following:

8. The nanoparticle of claim 1 , wherein the energy donor type of dye is selected from the group consisting of:

9. The nanoparticle of claim 1 , wherein the nanoparticle comprises a latex material, wherein the latex material comprises, a mixture represented by formula: (X)m-(Y)n-(Z)o-(W)p, wherein Y is at least one monomer with at least two ethylenically unsaturated chemical functionalities; Z is at least one polyethylene glycol macromonomer with an average molecular weight of between 300 and 10,000; W is an ethylenic monomer different from X, Y, or Z; and X is at least one water insoluble, alkoxethyl containing monomer represented by formula:

wherein R1 is a radical chosen from the group consisting of methyl and hydrogen, and R2 is a radical chosen from the group consisting of an alkyl group and an aryl group; and m, n, o, and p are weight percent ranges of each component monomer, wherein m ranges between 40-90 percent by weight, n ranges between 1-10 percent by weight, o ranges between 20-60 percent by weight, and p is up to 10 percent by weight.

10. The nanoparticle of claim 1 , further comprising a biotargeting moiety comprising an antibody.

11. The nanoparticle of claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the dyes is a large Stokes shift dye.

12. The nanoparticle of claim 1 , wherein the dye of the energy donor type is a molecular dye.

13. The nanoparticle of claim 1 , wherein the dye of the energy acceptor type is a molecular dye or a gold cluster.

14. The nanoparticle of claim 1 , wherein the dye of the energy acceptor type is a carbon nanotube or nanoparticles dyed with light absorbing molecules.

15. A method for detecting the presence of an enzyme, comprising:

contacting a sample with a nanoparticle including a monomer represented by formula:

wherein n is 10 to 200, at least one cleavable spacer comprising at least one fluorescence activation site, wherein the cleavable spacer is attached at one end to the nanoparticle, and at least two dyes of at least two types, wherein the two types comprise an energy donor type and an energy acceptor type, wherein at least one dye of one type is embedded in the nanoparticle and the cleavable spacer has at least one dye of the other type attached, and wherein the at least two dyes comprise at least one matched pair capable of fluorescence resonance energy transfer; and

detecting fluorescence.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the nanoparticle is loaded with the energy donor type of dye, and wherein the dye attached to the cleavable spacer is the energy acceptor type of dye.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the nanoparticle is loaded with the energy acceptor type of dye, and wherein the dye attached to the cleavable spacer is the energy donor type of dye.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the cleavable spacer is selected from the group consisting of DNA, RNA, carbohydrate, amino acid, peptide, protein, polysaccharide, nucleotide, oligonucleotide, nucleic acid, lipid, phospholipids, lipoprotein, and lipopolysaccharide.

19. The nanoparticle of claim 15 , wherein the fluorescence activation site can be cleaved by a protease.

20. A method for detecting the presence of an enzyme, comprising:

administering to a mammal a nanoparticle including a monomer represented by formula:

wherein n is 10 to 200, at least one cleavable spacer comprising at least one fluorescence activation site, wherein the cleavable spacer is attached at one end to the nanoparticle, and at least two dyes of at least two types, wherein the at least two types comprise an energy donor type and an energy acceptor type, wherein at least one dye of one type is embedded in the nanoparticle and the cleavable spacer has at least one dye of the other type attached, and wherein the at least two dyes comprise at least one matched pair capable of fluorescence resonance energy transfer; and

detecting fluorescence.