Fluorescence lifetime of indocyanine green in molecular and nano-forms in the cellular model of a brain tumor in vitro

Abstract

Abstract Any surgical intervention to a central nervous system requires special accuracy and selectivity of the effect on the cancer cells. The application of laser-spectroscopic methods provides a unique opportunity to non-invasively determine the most significant parameters that characterize the tissue states. Moreover, non-invasive state assessment of the brain tumor tissue and surrounding tissues is essential for performing a relapse-free operation. Indocyanine Green (ICG) is a photosensitizer approved for clinical practice and has absorption peak in the near-infrared range corresponding to the spectral transparency window of biological tissue. Also, the aqueous colloidal solution of ICG aggregates was used for spectroscopic properties research in glioma tumor cells. The comparative analysis of ICG in molecular and nanoforms demonstrate the difference between spectral values which allow distinguishing monomers and aggregates in tumor tissue.