Abstract
Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) is a newly emerging noninvasive imaging modality that could be further enhanced using near-infrared (NIR)-absorbing materials as contrast agents. To date, the most extensively studied photoacoustic imaging agents are inorganic nanomaterials because organic materials with NIR-absorption capabilities are limited. In this study, a NIR-absorbing nanocomplex composed of a squaraine dye (SQ) and albumin was prepared based on the aggregation-induced NIR absorption of SQ. Through aggregation, the absorption spectrum of SQ was widened from the visible-light region to the NIR region, which facilitated photoacoustic signal generation in the tissue-transparent NIR optical window (700-900 nm). Blood analysis and histology measurements revealed that the nanocomplex can be used for PAT applications in vivo without obvious toxicity to living mice.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 17985-17992 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces |
Volume | 6 |
Issue number | 20 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 22 2014 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- albumin
- nanocomplex
- near-infrared
- photoacoustic tomography
- red shift
- squaraine dye
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Materials Science