title: Time-Resolved Synchronous Fluorescence for Biomedical Diagnosis.
abstract: This article presents our most recent advances in synchronous fluorescence (SF) methodology for biomedical diagnostics. The SF method is characterized by simultaneously scanning both the excitation and emission wavelengths while keeping a constant wavelength interval between them. Compared to conventional fluorescence spectroscopy, the SF method simplifies the emission spectrum while enabling greater selectivity, and has been successfully used to detect subtle differences in the fluorescence emission signatures of biochemical species in cells and tissues. The SF method can be used in imaging to analyze dysplastic cells in vitro and tissue in vivo. Based on the SF method, here we demonstrate the feasibility of a time-resolved synchronous fluorescence (TRSF) method, which incorporates the intrinsic fluorescent decay characteristics of the fluorophores. Our prototype TRSF system has clearly shown its advantage in spectro-temporal separation of the fluorophores that were otherwise difficult to spectrally separate in SF spectroscopy. We envision that our previously-tested SF imaging and the newly-developed TRSF methods will combine their proven diagnostic potentials in cancer diagnosis to further improve the efficacy of SF-based biomedical diagnostics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. Steve.Zhang@duke.edu.|Fitzpatrick Institution for Photonics, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA. Steve.Zhang@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Xiaofeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA. Andrew.Fales@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fales
authors.affiliation: Fitzpatrick Institution for Photonics, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA. tuan.vodinh@duke.edu.|Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA. tuan.vodinh@duke.edu.|Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA. tuan.vodinh@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Tuan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vo-Dinh
mesh_terms: D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008751:Methylene Blue / Q000737:chemistry; D010078:Oxazines / Q000737:chemistry; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D010078:Oxazines; D008751:Methylene Blue
keywords: cancer diagnosis; imaging; synchronous fluorescence; time-resolved; ultrafast