Open AccessReflection-mode in vivo photoacoustic microscopy with subwavelength lateral resolution
Author(s) -
Wei Song,
Wei Zheng,
Ruimin Liu,
Riqiang Lin,
Hongtao Huang,
Xiaojing Gong,
Yang Shou-sheng,
Rui Zhang,
Song Liu
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
biomedical optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.362
H-Index - 86
ISSN - 2156-7085
DOI - 10.1364/boe.5.004235
Subject(s) - optics , materials science , microscopy , resolution (logic) , photoacoustic doppler effect , reflection (computer programming) , microscope , absorption (acoustics) , laser , photoacoustic effect , optoelectronics , physics , artificial intelligence , computer science , programming language
We developed a reflection-mode subwavelength-resolution photoacoustic microscopy system capable of imaging optical absorption contrast in vivo. The simultaneous high-resolution and reflection-mode imaging capacity of the system was enabled by delicately configuring a miniature high-frequency ultrasonic transducer tightly under a water-immersion objective with numerical aperture of 1.0. At 532-nm laser illumination, the lateral resolution of the system was measured to be ~320 nm. With this system, subcellular structures of red blood cells and B16 melanoma cells were resolved ex vivo; microvessels, including individual capillaries, in a mouse ear were clearly imaged label-freely in vivo, using the intrinsic optical absorption from hemoglobin. The current study suggests that, the optical-absorption contrast, subwavelength resolution, and reflection-mode ability of the developed photoacoustic microscopy may empower a wide range of biomedical studies for visualizing cellular and/or subcellular structures.