Monitoring the inflammatory process by surface enhanced nanoimaging microscopy.

The scope of this study highlights application of an emerging hybrid vibrational nanoimaging techniques based on surface enhanced nanoimaging microscopy in investigating the inflammatory process in the vascular system and neurodegenerative disorder. The experiments were performed on transgenic rat and ApoE knockout mice model, intravenously injected with USPIO based MR contrast agent. Marked signal enhancement were observed in contrast treated specimens in specific pathological regions, which is known to be infiltrated by helper T cells. The findings were subsequently correlated with the results from MR imaging and immunohistochemistry. The focus of this work encompasses the latest innovation of nanoimaging technology in monitoring the inflammatory process in neurodegenerative diseases, and implementing the first observation of intracellular iron uptakes in the endothelial and medial smooth muscle cells based on Coherent anti-Stokes Raman Scattering (SECARS) Microscopy.