Oxygen microscopy by two-photon-excited phosphorescence

Chemphyschem. 2008 Aug 25;9(12):1673-9. doi: 10.1002/cphc.200800296.

Abstract

High-resolution images of oxygen distributions in microheterogeneous samples are obtained by two-photon laser scanning microscopy (2P LSM), using a newly developed dendritic nanoprobe with internally enhanced two-photon absorption (2PA) cross-section. In this probe, energy is harvested by a 2PA antenna, which passes excitation onto a phosphorescent metalloporphyrin via intramolecular energy transfer. The 2P LSM allows sectioning of oxygen gradients with near diffraction-limited resolution, and lifetime-based acquisition eliminates dependence on the local probe concentration. The technique is validated on objects with a priori known oxygen distributions and applied to imaging of pO(2) in cells.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Cells, Cultured
  • Endothelial Cells
  • Humans
  • Luminescent Measurements
  • Microscopy / methods*
  • Molecular Structure
  • Nanostructures
  • Oxygen / chemistry*
  • Photochemistry
  • Photons*

Substances

  • Oxygen