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Near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging is an important imaging technology in deep-tissue biomedical imaging and related researches, due to the low absorption and scattering of NIR excitation and/or emission in biological tissues. Laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) plays a significant role in the family of fluorescence microscopy. Due to the introduction of pinhole, it can provide images with optical sectioning, high signal-to-noise ratio and better spatial resolution. In this study, in order to combine the advantages of these two techniques, we set up a fluorescence microscopic imaging system, which can be named as NIR-LSCM. The system was based on a commercially available confocal microscope, utilizing a NIR laser for excitation and a NIR sensitive detector for signal collection. In addition, NIR fluorescent nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared, and utilized for fluorescence imaging of the ear and brain of living mice based on the NIR-LSCM system. The structure of blood vessels at certain depth could be visualized clearly, because of the high-resolution and large-depth imaging capability of NIR-LSCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiphoton microscopy and nanoparticle-assisted photodynamic therapy are two important areas in biophotonics research. In this paper, we combined these two technologies together. Photosensitizer (HPPH) doped colloidal mesoporous silica nanoparticles were synthesized and systematically characterized. Based on a confocal microscope equipped with a 1560 nm femtosecond laser, we showed: (1) direct three-photon luminescence from HPPH doped nanoparticles, which were uptaken by tumor cells, and (2) cytotoxicity towards tumor cells by HPPH under three-photon excitation. Nanoparticle-assisted three-photon photodynamic therapy can be a promising technology for disease diagnosis and in vivo/clinical therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]