In single particle imaging applications, the number of photons detected from the fluorescent label plays a crucial role in the quantitative analysis of the acquired data. For example, in tracking experiments the localization accuracy of the labeled entity can be improved by collecting more photons from the labeled entity. Here, we report the development of dual objective multifocal plane micros...

As a well-known environmental pollutant but also an important gaseous transmitter, the specific detection of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is significant in biological systems. In this study, fluorosurfactant functionalized gold nanorods (FSN-AuNRs) have been proposed to act as selective colorimetric nanoprobes for H2S. With the combination of strong gold-S interactions and small FSN bilayer interstic...

The evolution of the intracellular caspase family is crucial in cell apoptosis. To evaluate this process, a universal platform of in situ activation and monitoring of the evolution of intracellular caspase is designed. Using well-known gold nanostructure as a model of both nanocarrier and matter inducing the cell apoptosis for photothermal therapy, a nanoprobe is prepared by assembly of two kin...

A dual-functionalized nanoprobe was designed for highly sensitive and selective in situ evaluation of carbohydrates on living cells by integrating the specific carbohydrate recognition and enzymatic signal amplification of proteins on Au nanoparticles. A nanoscaffold of nanohorns functionalized with arginine-glycine-aspartic acid-serine tetrapeptide was also prepared on an electrode surface for...

Recent years have witnessed significant progress in molecular probes for cancer diagnosis. However, the conventional molecular probes are designed to be "always-on" by attachment of tumor-targeting ligands, which limits their abilities to diagnose tumors universally due to the variations of targeting efficiency and complex environment in different cancers. Here, it is proposed that a color-conv...

We have successfully synthesized SiO2@(Y0.5Gd0.45Eu0.05)2O3 nanocomposites as a potential dual-modality nanoprobe for molecular imaging in vitro. However, their immunotoxicity assessment in vivo remains unknown. In this article, the in vitro biocompatibility of our dual-modality nanoprobes was assayed in terms of cell viability and apoptosis. In vivo immunotoxicity was investigated by monitorin...

The development of targeted nanoprobes is a promising approach to cancer diagnostics and therapy. In the present work, a novel multifunctional photo/magnet-diagnostic nanoprobe (MNPs-PEG2K-FA@Ce6) has been developed. This nanoprobe is built using folic acid (FA), bifunctional polyethylene glycol (PEG2K) and photosensitizer chlorin e6 (Ce6). The MNPs-PEG2K-FA@Ce6 nanoprobes are superparamagnetic...

Introduction One essential requirement for solid tumor growth is the ability to acquire an adequate blood supply; therefore, tumor vasculature is in a perpetual state of angiogenesis. Integrin αvβ3 is a well-established biomarker for angiogenesis with overexpression in tumor vasculature and low to no expression in resting endothelial cells. Non-invasive assessment of tumor angiogenesis is impor...