1,2-Dioxetane-based Chemiluminescence Probes for Tumor Optical Molecular Imaging

1,2-Dioxetane-based chemiluminescent probes have recently emerged as a promising tool for imaging biological systems, including disease diagnosis, staging, therapeutic response monitoring and surgical guidance. The advantages of these probes, such as high sensitivity and specificity and real-time imaging capabilities, are based on their ability to generate chemiluminescent signals without the need for additional excitation sources, enzymes or oxidants after being triggered by target biomarkers under physiological conditions. Over the past decade, numerous 1,2-dioxetane-based chemiluminescent probes have been developed and tested for tumor imaging. In this review, we first introduce the trigger mechanism and structural improvements of these probes, followed by an overview of the design principles and applications of 1,2-dioxetane-based chemiluminescent probes in in vrtio and in vivo tumour imaging. In addition, the challenges and potential prospects of this technology in the field of bioanalysis and diagnostics are discussed, with the aim of stimulating further progress in the development of new chemiluminescence methods.