Visualising Bacterial Colonization Dynamics Inside the Gut Using Upconverting Nanoparticles Luminescence Imaging

摘要

Upconverting nanoparticles (UCNP's) are recently emerged as a promising probe for bioimaging. Their unique property of photon upconversion enables them to convert low energy near-infrared (NIR) excitation light into higher energy visible/NIR light. This anti-stroke emission of UCNP offers greater tissue penetrance and signal-to-noise ratio. Here, we proposed to use UCNP luminescence imaging to visualize the infection dynamics of a gastrointestinal pathogen, Citrobacter rodentium, known to induce inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) like inflammation in mice.