Multiscale photoacoustic tomography using reversibly switchable thermochromics

Chenshuo Ma; Xiao Kuang; Maomao Chen; Luca Menozzi; Laiming Jiang; Qifa Zhou; Yu Shrike Zhang; Junjie Yao

doi:10.1117/1.JBO.28.8.082804

16 February 2023 Multiscale photoacoustic tomography using reversibly switchable thermochromics

Chenshuo Ma, Xiao Kuang, Maomao Chen, Luca Menozzi, Laiming Jiang, Qifa Zhou, Yu Shrike Zhang, Junjie Yao

Author Affiliations +

Journal of Biomedical Optics, Vol. 28, Issue 8, 082804 (February 2023). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.28.8.082804

Abstract

Significance

Based on acoustic detection of optical absorption, photoacoustic tomography (PAT) allows functional and molecular imaging beyond the optical diffusion limit with high spatial resolution. However, multispectral functional and molecular PAT is often limited by decreased spectroscopic accuracy and reduced detection sensitivity in deep tissues, mainly due to wavelength-dependent optical attenuation and inaccurate acoustic inversion.

Aim

Previous work has demonstrated that reversible color-shifting can drastically improve the detection sensitivity of PAT by suppressing nonswitching background signals. We aim to develop a new color switching-based PAT method using reversibly switchable thermochromics (ReST).

Approach

We developed a family of ReST with excellent water dispersion, biostability, and temperature-controlled color changes by surface modification of commercial thermochromic microcapsules with the hydrophilic polysaccharide alginate.

Results

The optical absorbance of the ReST was switched on and off repeatedly by modulating the surrounding temperature, allowing differential photoacoustic detection that effectively suppressed the nonswitching background signal and substantially improved image contrast and detection sensitivity. We demonstrate reversible thermal-switching imaging of ReST in vitro and in vivo using three PAT modes at different length scales.

Conclusions

ReST-enabled PAT is a promising technology for high-sensitivity deep tissue imaging of molecular activity in temperature-related biomedical applications, such as cancer thermotherapy.

CC BY: © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

Citation Download Citation

Chenshuo Ma, Xiao Kuang, Maomao Chen, Luca Menozzi, Laiming Jiang, Qifa Zhou, Yu Shrike Zhang, and Junjie Yao "Multiscale photoacoustic tomography using reversibly switchable thermochromics," Journal of Biomedical Optics 28(8), 082804 (16 February 2023). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.28.8.082804

Received: 18 November 2022; Accepted: 19 January 2023; Published: 16 February 2023

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