Characterizing short-wave infrared fluorescence of conventional near-infrared fluorophores
Open accessAbstract
The observed behavior of short-wave infrared (SWIR) light in tissue, characterized by relatively low scatter and subdiffuse photon transport, has generated considerable interest for the potential of SWIR imaging to produce high-resolution, subsurface images of fluorescence activity in vivo. These properties have important implications for fluorescence-guided surgery and preclinical biomedical research. Until recently, translational efforts have been impeded by the conventional understanding that fluorescence molecular imaging in the SWIR regime requires custom molecular probes that do not yet have proven safety profiles in humans. However, recent studies have shown that two readily available near-infrared (NIR-I) fluorophores produce measurable SWIR fluorescence, implying that other conventional fluorophores produce detectable fluorescence in the SWIR window. Using SWIR spectroscopy and wide-field SWIR imaging with tissue-simulating phantoms, we characterize and compare the SWIR emission properties of eight commercially available red/NIR-I fluorophores commonly used in preclinical and clinical research, in addition to a SWIR-specific fluorophore. All fluorophores produce measurable fluorescence emission in the SWIR, including shorter wavelength dyes such as Alexa Fluor 633 and methylene blue. This study is the first to report SWIR fluorescence from six of the eight conventional fluorophores and establishes an important comparative reference for developing and evaluating SWIR imaging strategies for biomedical applications.
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Many conventional NIR-polymethine fluorophores produce measurable fluorescence emission in the SWIR regime.
“Follow-up studies indicated that many other conventional NIR-polymethine fluorophores could also be employed for SWIR imaging, as they produce measurable fluorescence emission in this regime.30”
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MethodSpatial Frequency Domain Imaging of Short-Wave Infrared Fluorescence for Biomedical Applications
Leonor, J. P. (2019)
Self-citationMethods for standardizing and enhancing Biomedical Fluorescence Imaging
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- Authors
- Byrd, B. K., Folaron, M. R., Leonor, J. P., Strawbridge, R. R., Cao, X., Brůža, P., & Davis, S. C.
- Affiliations
- Dartmouth College (US)
- Corresponding author
- Davis, Scott C.
- Venue
- Journal of Biomedical Optics
- Publisher
- SPIE-Intl Soc Optical Eng
- Published
- 2019-03-08
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 03
- Pages
- 1-5
- ISSN
- 1083-3668 (ISSN-L)
- 1560-2281
- PMC
- PMC6408334
- OpenAlex
- W2921171109
- Cited by
- 22
- References
- 16
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 3
- FWCI
- 2.64
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Biomedical Optics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (R01CA188491, R01CA184354)
- HHS|NIH|National Cancer Institute (R01CA188491)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy Techniques
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biophysics › Spectroscopy Techniques in Biomedical and Chemical Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Photodynamic Therapy Research Studies
- Keywords
- near-infrared fluorophores, SWIR imaging, fluorescence molecular imaging, tissue phantoms, fluorescence-guided surgery, methylene blue
- MeSH terms
- Equipment Design, Fluorescent Dyes, Phantoms, Imaging, Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared, Optical Imaging
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