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Shedding light onto live molecular targets

Nature Medicine volume 9, pages 123–128 (2003)Cite this article

Optical sensing of specific molecular targets and pathways deep inside living mice has become possible as a result of a number of advances. These include design of biocompatible near-infrared fluorochromes, development of targeted and activatable 'smart' imaging probes, engineered photoproteins and advances in photon migration theory and reconstruction. Together, these advances will provide new tools making it possible to understand more fully the functioning of protein networks, diagnose disease earlier and speed along drug discovery.

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Figure 1: Interaction of light with tissue.
Figure 2: Fluorescence molecular tomography.
Figure 3: NIR fluorescence imaging.
Figure 4: Bioluminescence imaging.

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  1. Center for Molecular Imaging Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA

    Ralph Weissleder & Vasilis Ntziachristos

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Correspondence to Ralph Weissleder.

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Weissleder, R., Ntziachristos, V. Shedding light onto live molecular targets. Nat Med 9, 123–128 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0103-123

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