title: Rare-earth-doped biological composites as in vivo shortwave infrared reporters.
abstract: The extension of in vivo optical imaging for disease screening and image-guided surgical interventions requires brightly emitting, tissue-specific materials that optically transmit through living tissue and can be imaged with portable systems that display data in real-time. Recent work suggests that a new window across the short-wavelength infrared region can improve in vivo imaging sensitivity over near infrared light. Here we report on the first evidence of multispectral, real-time short-wavelength infrared imaging offering anatomical resolution using brightly emitting rare-earth nanomaterials and demonstrate their applicability toward disease-targeted imaging. Inorganic-protein nanocomposites of rare-earth nanomaterials with human serum albumin facilitated systemic biodistribution of the rare-earth nanomaterials resulting in the increased accumulation and retention in tumour tissue that was visualized by the localized enhancement of infrared signal intensity. Our findings lay the groundwork for a new generation of versatile, biomedical nanomaterials that can advance disease monitoring based on a pioneering infrared imaging technique.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, 599 Taylor Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Naczynski
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zevon
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wall
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kohl
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kulesa
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Roth
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Riman
authors.forename: P V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Moghe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007259:Infrared Rays; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008674:Metals, Rare Earth / Q000737:chemistry*; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D015335:Molecular Probes / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D061848:Optical Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D011846:Radio Waves; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000737:chemistry; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D008674:Metals, Rare Earth; D015335:Molecular Probes; D012709:Serum Albumin