14/06/2020
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16333-2
Abstract
Optical probes operating in the second near-infrared window (NIR-II, 1,000-1,700 nm), where tissues are highly transparent, have expanded the applicability of fluorescence in the biomedical field. NIR-II fluorescence enables deep-tissue imaging with micrometric resolution in animal models, but is limited by the low brightness of NIR-II probes, which prevents imaging at low excitation intensities and fluorophore concentrations. Here, we present a new generation of probes (Ag2S superdots) derived from chemically synthesized Ag2S dots, on which a protective shell is grown by femtosecond laser irradiation. This shell reduces the structural defects, causing an 80-fold enhancement of the quantum yield. PEGylated Ag2S superdots enable deep-tissue in vivo imaging at low excitation intensities (
Deep tissue imaging has been limited by the low brightness of probes emitting in the second near-infrared window. Here, the authors use femtosecond laser irradiation to grow a protective shell on Ag2S nanoparticles, achieving 80-fold quantum yield enhancement and imaging with low excitation intensit...