Use of nonlinear upconverting nanoparticles provides increased spatial resolution in fluorescence diffuse imaging

摘要

Fluorescence diffuse imaging (FDI) suffers from limited spatial resolution. In this Letter, we report a scanningnimaging approach to increase the resolution of FDI using nonlinear fluorophores. The resolution of a linearnfluorophore was compared with nonlinear upconverting nanoparticles (NaYF4:Yb3þ=Tm3þ) in a tissue phantom.nA resolution improvement of a factor of 1.3 was found experimentally. Simulations suggested a maximum resolu-ntion improvement of a factor of 1.45. Usage of nonlinear fluorophores is a promising method for increasing thenspatial resolution in FDI. © 2010 Optical Society of America