Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA.
Nanotechnology. 2011 Sep 7;22(36):365102. doi: 10.1088/0957-4484/22/36/365102. Epub 2011 Aug 16.
Gold nanoshells have been intensively investigated and applied to various biomedical fields because of their flexible optical tunability and biological compatibility. They hold great potential to serve as luminescent contrast agents excitable with near-infrared (NIR) lasers. In this paper, we describe the development of nanoshells with a peak of plasmon resonance at 800 nm and their subsequent use for in vivo blood vessel imaging using two-photon excitation microscopy at an excitation wavelength of 750 nm. We were able to image single nanoshell particles in blood vessels and generate optical contrast for blood vessel structure using luminescent signals. These results confirm the feasibility of engineering nanoshells with controlled optical properties for single-particle-based in vivo imaging.
金纳米壳由于其光学可调谐性和生物兼容性而被广泛研究和应用于各个生物医学领域。它们具有作为可被近红外（NIR）激光激发的发光对比剂的巨大潜力。在本文中，我们描述了具有 800nm 等离子体共振峰的纳米壳的开发及其随后在 750nm 激发波长下使用双光子激发显微镜进行活体血管成像的应用。我们能够在血管中成像单个纳米壳颗粒，并使用发光信号产生血管结构的光学对比。这些结果证实了用可控光学特性工程纳米壳用于基于单颗粒的活体成像的可行性。
