Lanthanide-Based Metal–Organic Frameworks Solidified by Gelatin-Methacryloyl Hydrogels For Improving the Accuracy of Localization and Excision of Small Pulmonary Nodules

Abstract The localization of invisible and impalpable small pulmonary nodules has become an important concern during surgery, since current widely used techniques for localization, such as hookwires, microcoils, and indocyanine green (ICG), have a number of limitations. For example, hookwires and microcoils may cause complications because of their invasive features, while ICG undergoes rapid diffusion after injection and has limited application in the localization of deep-seated lesions. In contrast, lanthanide-based metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have been proven as potential fluorescent agents because of their prominent luminescent characteristics, including large Stokes shifts, high quantum yields, long decay lifetimes, and undisturbed emissive energies. In addition, lanthanides, such as Eu, can efficiently absorb X-rays for CT imaging. In this study, we synthesized Eu-UiO-67-bpy (UiO = University of Oslo, bpy = 2,2'-bipyridyl) as a fluorescent dye with a gelatin-methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogel as a liquid carrier. The prepared complex exhibits constant fluorescence emission owing to the luminescent characteristics of Eu and the stable structure of UiO-67-bpy with restricted fluorescence diffusion attributed to the photocured GelMA. Furthermore, the hydrogel provides stiffness to make the injection site tactile and improve the accuracy of localization and excision. Finally, our complex enables fluorescence-CT dual-modal imaging of the localization site.