Design and construction of COX-2 specific fluorescent probes.

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is an inducible enzyme that plays a key role in the inflammatory cascade through the generation of prostaglandins. Recent studies have found that COX-2 is closely related to the occurrence and development of tumors, angiogenesis and metastasis of tumors. Overexpressed COX-2 has become a predictive biomarker for progression of pre-malignant towards cancer in some tissues, which makes the detection of COX-2 of great value and clinical significance. This review highlights COX-2-specific fluorescent probes based on small organic molecules, including their design strategies and applications in the detection and imaging of COX-2 in vitro and in vivo. The progress suggests that fluorescence detection and imaging of COX-2 is a vital and rapidly technology for early diagnosis of tumors.