Introduction to Infrared and Raman-Based Biomedical Molecular Imaging and Comparison with Other Modalities |
| |
Authors: | Carlos F G C Geraldes |
| |
Institution: | 1.Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-393 Coimbra, Portugal; Tel.: +351-96-766-1211;2.Chemistry Center, Rua Larga, University of Coimbra, 3004-535 Coimbra, Portugal;3.CIBIT-Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, Azinhaga de Santa Comba, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal |
| |
Abstract: | Molecular imaging has rapidly developed to answer the need of image contrast in medical diagnostic imaging to go beyond morphological information to include functional differences in imaged tissues at the cellular and molecular levels. Vibrational (infrared (IR) and Raman) imaging has rapidly emerged among the molecular imaging modalities available, due to its label-free combination of high spatial resolution with chemical specificity. This article presents the physical basis of vibrational spectroscopy and imaging, followed by illustration of their preclinical in vitro applications in body fluids and cells, ex vivo tissues and in vivo small animals and ending with a brief discussion of their clinical translation. After comparing the advantages and disadvantages of IR/Raman imaging with the other main modalities, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography/single-photon emission-computed tomography (PET/SPECT), ultrasound (US) and photoacoustic imaging (PAI), the design of multimodal probes combining vibrational imaging with other modalities is discussed, illustrated by some preclinical proof-of-concept examples. |
| |
Keywords: | bio-imaging vibrational spectroscopy infrared Raman multimodal imaging |
|
|