Application Overview

IMPORTANT: IRDye 680LT dye products should not be used for small animal in vivo imaging.

Fluorescent optical imaging is an excellent way to examine the biodistribution of cells or labeled targeting agents as they are cleared from and/or specifically retained in the animal.

• Biodistribution can be imaged and tracked in the live animal over time, allowing you to watch the clearance and specific retention of your labeled agent.

• After in vivo imaging, excised tissues can be imaged ex vivo to confirm and quantify accumulation of the agent in tumors, tissues, and organs.

• Tissue sections can be viewed with an imager or microscope for additional information about the localization of the agent.

Near-infrared dyes, such as IRDye fluorophores, and carefully optimized hardware are critical for high-performance optical imaging.

• Near-infrared fluorophores exploit the spectral region where light absorption and scatter properties of tissue are most advantageous¹. This enhances penetration depth (access of excitation light to the fluorophore) and escape of emitted fluorescence from the animal to reach the detector.

• Laser illumination delivers very intense excitation light of the correct wavelength, generating the brightest possible signal from the fluorescent agent.

• Intrinsic autofluorescence from animal tissue can mask the signal from optical probes. In the NIR spectral region, autofluorescence is dramatically lowered ^2,3.

• The new Pearl Imager Impulse permits rapid time-lapse imaging of vasculature and lymphatics.
  Watch a two-minute video about Impulse.

¹ Tsien, R. Science. Vol. 324, May 8, 2009

² Hawrysz, DJ and Sevick-Muraca, EM. Neoplasia 2(5):388–417 (2000)

³ Frangioni, JV. Curr Opin Chem Biol. 7(5):626-34 (2003)

⁴ Adams, KE, et al. J Biomed Opt. 12(2):024017 (2007)

Technical Resources

Webinars and Video Tutorials

• Why Image in NIR?

  • “Advances in In Vivo Imaging: Near-Infrared Optical Imaging of Mice”
    Jeff Harford, LI-COR

  • “Instrumentation and Imaging Considerations”
    Eva Sevick-Muraca, Baylor College of Medicine

  • “In vivo imaging of prostate cancer using an IRDye 800CW EGF Optical Probe”
    Melanie Simpson, University of Nebraska – Lincoln

  • “Comparison of visible and near-infrared wavelength-excitable fluorescent dyes for molecular imaging of cancer”
    Eva Sevick-Muraca and Shi Ke, Baylor College of Medicine

• Development of imaging agents

  • “Systematic Evaluation and Use of Targeted IRDye labeled Optical Contrast Agents”
    Mike Olive, LI-COR

  • “Systematic Evaluation of Targeted IRDye Labeled Optical Imaging Agents”
    Joy Kovar, LI-COR

  • “Near Infrared Fluorescent Approaches to Cell-Based Assays and Small Animal Imaging”
    Amy Geschwender, LI-COR

• Biodistribution

  • “In Vivo Imaging of Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Homing using LI-COR IRDye 800CW Near Infrared Dye”
    Aaron Foster, Baylor College of Medicine

  • “In Vivo Tracking of the BChE/IRDye 800CW Complex in BChE Knockout Mice”
    Ellen Duysen, University of Nebraska – Medical Center

See Small Animal Imaging application page for more related webinars.

PubMed

Publishing with LI-COR data?

• Why image in the near-infrared

  • Adams, KE et al.
    Comparison of visible and near-infrared wavelength-excitable fluorescent dyes for molecular imaging of cancer.
    J Biomed Opt. 12(2):024017 (2007)

  • Kovar, J et al.
    A systematic approach to the development of fluorescent contrast agents for optical imaging of mouse cancer models.
    Anal Biochem. 367():1-12 (2007)

  • Osterman, H and Schutz-Geschwender, A.
    Seeing beyond the visible with IRDye infrared dyes
    LI-COR Biosciences (2007)

  • Olive, DM.
    Near infrared technology and optical agents for molecular imaging
    LI-COR Biosciences(2006)

• Developing Imaging agents

  • Kovar, J et al.
    A systematic approach to the development of fluorescent contrast agents for optical imaging of mouse cancer models.
    Anal Biochem. 367(1):1-12 (2007)

  • Kovar, J et al.
    Purification method directly influences effectiveness of an epidermal growth factor-coupled targeting agent for noninvasive tumor detection in mice.
    Anal Biochem. 361(1):47-54 (2007)

  • Kovar, J et al.
    Characterization and performance of a near-infrared 2-deoxyglucose optical imaging agent for mouse cancer models.
    Anal Biochem.384(2): 254-62 (2009)

• Biodistribution

  • Johnson, ND et al.
    Intrathecal delivery of fluorescent labeled butyrylcholinesterase to the brains of butyrylcholinesterase knock-out mice: visualization and quantification of enzyme distribution in the brain.
    Neurotoxicology. 30(3):386-92 (2009)

  • Chen, K et al.
    RGD–human serum albumin conjugates as efficient tumor targeting probes.
    Mol Imaging. 8(2):65-73 (2009)

  • Wang, H et al.
    Site-specifically biotinylated VEGF121 for near-infrared fluorescence imaging of tumor angiogenesis.
    Mol Pharmaceutics. 6(1):285–94 (2009)

  • Mondal, S et al.
    Functional blocking monoclonal antibodies against IL-12p40 homodimer inhibit adoptive transfer of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.
    J Immunol. 182:5013–23 (2009)

  • Tanaka, E et al.
    Real-time intraoperative assessment of the extrahepatic bile ducts in rats and pigs using invisible near-infrared fluorescent light.
    Surgery. 144(1):39-48 (2008).

  • Duysen, EG and Lockridge, O.
    Whole body and tissue imaging of the butyrylcholinesterase knockout mouse injected with near infrared dye labeled butyrylcholinesterase.
    Chem Biol Interact. 175(1-3):119–24 (2008)

  • Foster, AE et al.
    In vivo fluorescent optical imaging of cytotoxic T lymphocyte migration using IRDye800CW near-infrared dye.
    Appl Opt. 47(31):5944-52 (2008)

  • Wang, G-J et al.
    Thymus Exosomes-Like Particles Induce Regulatory T Cells.
    J Immunol. 181:5242-8 (2008)

  • Tanaka, E et al.
    Real-time intraoperative ureteral guidance using invisible near-infrared fluorescence.
    J Urol. 178(5):2197-202 (2007)

  • Sampath, L et al.
    Dual-labeled trastuzumab-based imaging agent for the detection of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 overexpression in breast cancer.
    J Nucl Med. 48(9):1501-10 (2007)

  • Ghosh, A et al.
    Selective inhibition of NF-kB activation prevents dopaminergic neuronal loss in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease.
    Proc Natl Acad Sci USA.104(47):18754-18759 (2007)

  • Roy, A et al.
    Myelin basic protein-primed T cells induce neurotrophins in glial cells via a5b3 integrin.
    J Biol Chem. 282(44):32222–32 (2007)

  • Kovar, J et al.
    Effective bone labeling for in vivo NIR noninvasive imaging in nude mice.
    Poster presentation, Joint Molecular Imaging Conference (2007)

  • Kovar, J et al.
    IRDye 800CW 2-deoxyglucose, a near-infrared metabolic optical imaging agent?
    Poster presentation, AACR Annual Meeting (2007)

  • Kovar, J et al.
    Hyaluronidase expression induces prostate tumor metastasis in an orthotopic mouse model.
    Am J Pathol. 169(4):1415-1426 (2006)

  • Parungo, CP et al.
    In vivo optical imaging of pleural space drainage to lymph nodes of prognostic significance.
    Ann Surg Oncol. 11:1085–92 (2004)

• Vascular and lymphatic imaging

  • Kovar, JL et al.
    Imaging Lymphatics With A Variety of Near-Infrared-Labeled Optical Agents.
    Poster Presentation, World Molecular Imaging Annual Meeting (2009)

  • Tanaka, E et al.
    Image-guided oncologic surgery using invisible light: completed pre-clinical development for sentinel lymph node mapping.
    Ann Surg Oncol. 13(12):1671-81 (2006).

  • Parungo, CP et al.
    In vivo optical imaging of pleural space drainage to lymph nodes of prognostic significance.
    Ann Surg Oncol. 11:1085–92 (2004).

• Tissue section imaging

  • Kovar, J et al.
    Characterization and performance of a near-infrared 2-deoxyglucose optical imaging agent for mouse cancer models.
    Anal Biochem.384(2): 254-262 (2009)

  • Mondal, S et al.
    Functional blocking monoclonal antibodies against IL-12p40 homodimer inhibit adoptive transfer of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.
    J Immunol. 182:5013–5023 (2009)

  • Kobuke, K et al.
    A common disease-associated missense mutation in alpha-sarcoglycan fails to cause muscular dystrophy in mice.
    Hum Mol Genet. 17(9):1201–1213 (2008)

  • Ghosh, A et al.
    Selective inhibition of NF-kB activation prevents dopaminergic neuronal loss in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease.
    Proc Natl Acad Sci USA.104(47):18754-18759 (2007)

  • Kovar, J et al.
    A systematic approach to the development of fluorescent contrast agents for optical imaging of mouse cancer models.
    Anal Biochem. 367(1):1-12 (2007)

  • Kovar, J et al.
    Purification method directly influences effectiveness of an epidermal growth factor-coupled targeting agent for noninvasive tumor detection in mice.
    Anal Biochem. 361(1):47-54 (2007)

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