New research shows that fluorescent probes are light-emitting materials that attach
This type of fluorescent light penetrates deeper intobiological objects, and, importantly, it is not absorbed or dissipated. This can provide high-resolution images of structures located deep inside the body, such as the brain.
Satoshi Habuchi and his colleagues are working onBy improving fluorescence imaging, they are expanding the type of probes capable of producing SWIR radiation. Currently, most vortex emitters are either semiconductor quantum dots or doped with rare-earth nanoparticles: they are unsuitable for mass use due to their toxicity to the body.
On the other hand, biocompatible materials such as organic dyes are usually not intense enough to be useful for tissue studies.
To solve this problem, researchersused polymers that have donor-acceptor structures: in them, electron-rich components alternate with lean parts. All of them are located along the conducting molecular chain.
This distribution promotes charge transfer along the polymer backbone, which is a very efficient way to generate vortex light, explains Hubert Pivonski, lead author of the study.
New polymers can transmit images without interference. Thanks to this, the new operating algorithm can be used to monitor processes in organs and tissues.
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