title: Applications of multiphoton tomographs and femtosecond laser nanoprocessing microscopes in drug delivery research.
abstract: Multiphoton tomography for in vivo high-resolution multidimensional imaging has been used in clinical investigations and small animal studies. The novel femtosecond laser tomographs have been employed to detect cosmetics and pharmaceutical components in situ as well as to study the interaction of drugs with intratissue cells and the extracellular matrix under physiological conditions. Applications include the intra-tissue accumulation of sunscreen nanoparticles in humans, the monitoring the metabolic status of patients with dermatitis, the biosynthesis of collagen after administration of anti-aging products, and the detection of porphyrins after application of 5-aminolevulinic acid. More than 2000 patients and volunteers in Europe, Australia, and Asia have been investigated with these unique tomographs. In addition, femtosecond laser nanoprocessing microscopes have been employed for targeted delivery and deposition in body organs, optical transfection and optical cleaning of stem cells, as well as for the optical transfer of molecular beacons to track microRNAs. These diverse applications highlight the capacity for multiphoton tomography and femtosecond laser nanoprocessing tools to advance drug delivery research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophotonics and Laser Technology, Saarland University, Saarbruecken, Germany. k.koenig@blt.uni-saarland.de
authors.forename: Karsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: König
authors.forename: Anthony P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Raphael
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Jeffrey E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Grice
authors.forename: H Peter
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Soyer
authors.forename: H Georg
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Breunig
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: Tarl W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Prow
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006801:Humans; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal / Q000379:methods*; D036641:Microscopy, Fluorescence, Multiphoton / Q000379:methods; D014054:Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000379:methods