Xiangxi Meng

BME PhD Proposal Presentation

Date: Monday, September 10

Time: 9 AM

Location: UAW 4235 (GT), Wangkezhen Bldg 908 (PKU)

Committee members:

Qiushi Ren (Advisor)

May D. Wang (Co-Advisor)

Weiqiang Chen

Changhui Li

Shuming Nie

Multiplexed Molecular Imaging in the Second Near-Infrared Window 

The second near-infrared window (NIR-II window) is a certain range of near-infrared light with superior ability to penetrate biological tissues. In this research, the basic imaging properties of the NIR-II imaging were first explored. To enable this, equipment for conducting NIR-II imaging were constructed and corresponding fluorescent materials were prepared. Liquid phantoms with Intralipid were used as a model system to verify the imaging ability, and the results obtained were verified with a CLARITY experiment. After obtaining such results, new methods to multiplex NIR-II fluorescence imaging and other biomedical procedures were proposed and explored. Taking the advantage of its special penetration ability, NIR-II imaging could be used to look into the transient process of the first several seconds of the distribution of fluorescent quantum dots administered via tail-vein injection. NIR-II imaging was also used to visualize the intestine structure and bowel movement real-time on nude mice. Furthermore, NIR-II imaging could be used in the tracking of stem cells inside a mouse brain. In the end, by multiplexing with radiotherapy, which generates Cerenkov photons, the NIR-II emitting quantum dots can be illuminated. This may provide a tool to help the precision delivery of dosage and real-time monitoring of the radiotherapy process. In this research, the potential of NIR-II imaging is explored, and the multiplexing ability of NIR-II imaging is demonstrated.