title: Through-skull fluorescence imaging of the brain in a new near-infrared window.
abstract: To date, brain imaging has largely relied on X-ray computed tomography and magnetic resonance angiography with limited spatial resolution and long scanning times. Fluorescence-based brain imaging in the visible and traditional near-infrared regions (400-900 nm) is an alternative but currently requires craniotomy, cranial windows and skull thinning techniques, and the penetration depth is limited to 1-2 mm due to light scattering. Here, we report through-scalp and through-skull fluorescence imaging of mouse cerebral vasculature without craniotomy utilizing the intrinsic photoluminescence of single-walled carbon nanotubes in the 1.3-1.4 micrometre near-infrared window. Reduced photon scattering in this spectral region allows fluorescence imaging reaching a depth of >2 mm in mouse brain with sub-10 micrometre resolution. An imaging rate of ~5.3 frames/s allows for dynamic recording of blood perfusion in the cerebral vessels with sufficient temporal resolution, providing real-time assessment of blood flow anomaly in a mouse middle cerebral artery occlusion stroke model.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Guosong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Shuo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Diao
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Junlei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Alexander L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Antaris
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Changxin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Su
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Research Center and Cardiology Division, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Dmitriy N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Atochin
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Research Center and Cardiology Division, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Paul L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Katrin I
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Andreasson
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Calvin J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Hongjie
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dai