A team of researchers from the Laboratoire de Chimie at Claude Bernard University Lyon 1 (Lyon, France), the Institut des Neurosciences Grenoble (Grenoble, France), and the Interdisciplinary Chemistry: Synthesis, Analysis, Modeling (CEISAM) lab at the University of Nantes (Nantes, France) have developed a dye that fluoresces in the near-infrared (NIR) and can pass through the skin. The chromophore they synthesized, dubbed Lem-PHEA, opens up significant prospects for better observing the brain and understanding how it works.
Related: New approach overcomes limitations of two-photon dual-color imaging
To obtain images of the vascular system of a mouse brain, it is necessary to use a fluorescent dye that combines NIR luminescence, solubility in biological media, low cost, non-toxicity, and utility for 3D two-photon microscopy. Lem-PHEA combines these properties; when injected into the blood vessels of a mouse, it reveals details of a rodent's vascular system with unprecedented detail, thanks to a considerably enhanced fluorescence compared to conventional dyes such as Rhodamine-B and cyanine derivatives. What's more, Lem-PHEA is easily eliminated by the kidneys.
Their work has been published online in the journal Chemical Science; for more information, please visit http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2013/SC/C3SC22325F.
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