# Nerve-specific Fluorophores for Improved Nerve Sparing during Prostatectomy using the Clinical Fluorescence Guided Surgery Infrastructure

> **NIH NIH R01** · OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $75,219

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Management of tumors at the skull base has been clinically challenging for over a century. Tumors are typically
located deep in the skull and are routinely associated with critical neurovascular structures, where damage leads
to high morbidity and mortality. Major advances in exposure techniques, tumor removal, skull base reconstruction
and minimally invasive procedures have improved surgical safety, however cranial nerves remain one of most
frequently injured nerve structures across all surgical subspecialties. Tumors of the skull base are generally
benign, but arise in close proximity to the cranial nerves with the most common pathologies originating from the
cranial nerve sheaths (i.e., acoustic schwannomas) or lining of the skull (i.e., meningiomas). Meningiomas
account for ~40% of primary brain tumors with ~35,000 diagnoses expected in 2021. Since meningiomas arise
from the meninges, they can present in a variety of locations within the skull. In contrast, acoustic schwannomas
are far less prevalent, but are always intimately associated with cranial nerves as they arise from the nerve
sheath. Complete surgical resection of both tumor types is potentially curative, but must be balanced with nerve
preservation, where these critical structures are closely associated with a tumor that distorts normal anatomy.
While neuroanatomical knowledge, white light visualization and neurophysiological monitoring are utilized in-
concert to preserve cranial nerves, nerve damage and incomplete resection continue to challenge skull base
surgeries. This work will directly address this unmet clinical need. To facilitate clinical translation and utility for
neurosurgery, the overall goal herein is to generate a nerve-specific fluorophore with spectral properties matched
to the clinically approved near infrared (NIR) fluorescence guided surgery (FGS) systems. These novel probes
would enable cranial nerve visualization that is spectrally distinct from the visible tumor enhancing contrast
commonly used in neurosurgery, while enabling future clinical translation using existing clinical FGS
infrastructure. Development of a NIR nerve-specific probe has presented a synthetic challenge as molecules
must be small enough to cross the tight blood nerve and/or blood brain barrier(s), but with a sufficient degree of
conjugation to reach NIR wavelengths. This is a particular challenge in neurosurgical applications where
identification and visualization of structures at the interface between the peripheral and central nervous systems
(i.e., PNS and CNS, respectively) are required for successful surgical outcomes. In preliminary work, our group
has designed and developed NIR oxazine-based probes where a subset provide both PNS and CNS specificity,
however an agent suitable for clinical translation is still required. Additionally, synthetic optimization studies have
also provided us with a roadmap to develop water-soluble nerve-specific probes, allowing facile sys...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10540590
- **Project number:** 3R01EB032226-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Summer Lynne Gibbs
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $75,219
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-08-05 → 2025-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10540590

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10540590, Nerve-specific Fluorophores for Improved Nerve Sparing during Prostatectomy using the Clinical Fluorescence Guided Surgery Infrastructure (3R01EB032226-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10540590. Licensed CC0.

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