Multiphoton microscopy with near infrared contrast agents.

While multiphoton microscopy (MPM) has been performed with a wide range of excitation wavelengths, fluorescence emission has been limited to the visible spectrum. We introduce a paradigm for MPM of near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent molecular probes via nonlinear excitation at 1550 nm. This all-NIR system expands the range of available MPM fluorophores, virtually eliminates background autofluorescence, and allows for use of fiber-based, turnkey ultrafast lasers developed for telecommunications.

[1]  S. Achilefu,et al.  Near infrared dyes as lifetime solvatochromic probes for micropolarity measurements of biological systems. , 2007, Biophysical journal.

[2]  John C Rasmussen,et al.  Molecular imaging with optics: primer and case for near-infrared fluorescence techniques in personalized medicine. , 2008, Journal of biomedical optics.

[3]  K. Fujita.  [Two-photon laser scanning fluorescence microscopy]. , 2007, Tanpakushitsu kakusan koso. Protein, nucleic acid, enzyme.

[4]  N. Nishimura,et al.  Deep tissue multiphoton microscopy using longer wavelength excitation. , 2009, Optics express.

[5]  Siavash Yazdanfar,et al.  Ultrafast optical pulse delivery with fibers for nonlinear microscopy , 2008, Microscopy research and technique.

[6]  Robert M Hoffman,et al.  Infrared multiphoton microscopy: subcellular-resolved deep tissue imaging. , 2009, Current opinion in biotechnology.

[7]  A. Jeromin,et al.  Highly versatile confocal microscopy system based on a tunable femtosecond Er:fiber source , 2008, Journal of biophotonics.

[8]  Rongqing Hui,et al.  Two-photon microscopy with wavelength switchable fiber laser excitation. , 2006, Optics express.

[9]  Siavash Yazdanfar,et al.  Autoconfocal transmission microscopy based on two-photon-induced photocurrent of Si photodiodes. , 2010, Optics letters.

[10]  Tommaso Baldacchini,et al.  Effect of excitation wavelength on penetration depth in nonlinear optical microscopy of turbid media. , 2009, Journal of biomedical optics.

[11]  W. Webb,et al.  Measurement of two-photon excitation cross sections of molecular fluorophores with data from 690 to 1050 nm , 1996 .

[12]  David A Boas,et al.  Multi-photon microscopy with a low-cost and highly efficient Cr:LiCAF laser. , 2008, Optics express.

[13]  G McConnell,et al.  Nonlinear optical microscopy at wavelengths exceeding 1.4 µm using a synchronously pumped femtosecond-pulsed optical parametric oscillator , 2007, Physics in medicine and biology.

[14]  Siavash Yazdanfar,et al.  Multifunctional Imaging of Endogenous Contrast by Simultaneous Nonlinear and Optical Coherence Microscopy of Thick Tissues , 2007, Microscopy research and technique.

[15]  Bruce J Tromberg,et al.  Developing compact multiphoton systems using femtosecond fiber lasers. , 2009, Journal of biomedical optics.

[16]  Sharon Bloch,et al.  Design, synthesis, and evaluation of near infrared fluorescent multimeric RGD peptides for targeting tumors. , 2006, Journal of medicinal chemistry.

[17]  Min Gu.  Image formation in multiphoton fluorescence microscopy , 2008 .

[18]  S. Achilefu,et al.  Novel receptor-targeted fluorescent contrast agents for in vivo tumor imaging. , 2000, Investigative radiology.

[19]  Tzu-Ming Liu,et al.  Multimodal nonlinear spectral microscopy based on a femtosecond Cr:forsterite laser. , 2001, Optics letters.