The protein tomato (L. esculentum) lectin is widely used for vascular labeling because the protein has a high binding affinity for glycoprotein N-acetylglucosamines on the surface of vascular endothelial cells.

IVISense Tomato Lectin 680 is a near-infrared fluorescent imaging probe that is comprised of the tomato lectin protein and a near-infrared fluorophore. This imaging probe targets the vasculature and enables imaging of blood vessels and angiogenesis. It was designed and optimized for use in living animals for assessing vascularity in vivo and in real-time, without termination of mice, excision and processing of the tissue.

Tumors induce significant blood vessel development in order to support their aggressive growth and progression. The extensive and disordered nature of tumor vasculature impairs drug delivery and efficacy. Therefore, destroying the tumor vasculature and/or inhibiting neo-vascularization have become well-accepted and proven cancer treatment strategies. IVISense Tomato Lectin 680 targets the surface of vascular endothelial cells and can be used for quantitation of vascular burden across different tumor cell lines.