Imaging and inhibiting: A dual function molecular flare for cancer cells.

The Wnt pathway is dysregulated and activated in many human malignancies. More than 90% of colon cancers have variations in the Wnt pathway. Sulindac, a drug that targets protein Dvl of the Wnt/Dvl/beta-catenin pathway, which regulates cancer gene expression, has been reported to significantly reduce the incidence and the risk of death from colorectal cancer and other types of cancer. Herein, a dual functional compound (SLN) containing Sulindac and a linked fluorophore is first reported, combining the functions of lighting up colon cancer cells as a flare and inhibiting colon tumors as a drug. SLN can not only mark the Dvl protein in the Wnt pathway to recognize tumors layer by layer but also achieve effective inhibition of colon cancer, providing a promising reagent for chemotherapy and a fluorescent indicator for surgery during the removal the colon tumors in situ.