Bismuth Selenide Nanostructured Clusters as Optical Coherence Tomography Contrast Agents: Beyond Gold-Based Particles.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique currently used in clinical practice to obtain optical biopsies of different biological tissues in a minimally invasive way. Among the contrast agents proposed to increase the efficacy of this imaging method, gold nanoshells (GNSs) are the best performing ones. However, their preparation is generally time-consuming, and they are intrinsically costly to produce.

In Vivo Near-Infrared Imaging Using Ternary Selenide Semiconductor Nanoparticles with an Uncommon Crystal Structure.

The implementation of in vivo fluorescence imaging as a reliable diagnostic imaging modality at the clinical level is still far from reality. Plenty of work remains ahead to provide medical practitioners with solid proof of the potential advantages of this imaging technique. To do so, one of the key objectives is to better the optical performance of dedicated contrast agents, thus improving the resolution and penetration depth achievable.

Instantaneous In Vivo Imaging of Acute Myocardial Infarct by NIR-II Luminescent Nanodots.

Fast and precise localization of ischemic tissues in the myocardium after an acute infarct is required by clinicians as the first step toward accurate and efficient treatment. Nowadays, diagnosis of a heart attack at early times is based on biochemical blood analysis (detection of cardiac enzymes) or by ultrasound-assisted imaging. Alternative approaches are investigated to overcome the limitations of these classical techniques (time-consuming procedures or low spatial resolution).

Amphiphilic Near-Infrared Conjugated Polymer for Photothermal and Chemo Combination Therapy.

Amphiphilic conjugated polymer was designed and utilized as nanocarriers without further general encapsulation using PEGylated materials for photothermal therapy (PTT) and chemotherapy. These nanocarriers have maximum absorption in ideal phototherapeutic window between 800 and 850 nm and excellent photothermal conversion efficiency of 76% at 808 nm. It provides the simultaneous therapy of chemotherapy and PTT with the monitoring of photoacoustic imaging.