A boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) dye emitting in the near-infrared (NIR) I region (723 nm) exhibits strong saturable absorption at 680 nm and excellent three-photon fluorescence imaging in the NIR II (1665 nm) window.
Multi-functional and hierarchically structured silica nanospheres are rationally designed and fabricated, which encapsulate quantum dots to permit near infrared deep tissue imaging and are loaded with carcinoembryonic antigen messenger RNA (CEAmRNA) to enable stable and abundant antigen expression in DCs.