Fluorescence and Cerenkov luminescence imaging

Abstract

SummaryThis review addresses small animal optical imaging (OI) applications in diverse fields of basic research. In the past, OI has proven to be cost- and time-effective, allows real-time imaging as well as high-throughput analysis and does not imply the usage of ionizing radiation (with the exception of Cerenkov imaging applications). Therefore, this technique is widely spread – not only geographically, but also among very different fields of basic research – and is represented by a large body of publications. Originally used in oncology research, OI is nowadays emerging in further areas like inflammation and infectious disease as well as neurology. Besides fluorescent probe-based contrast, the feasibility of Cerenkov luminescence imaging (CLI) has been recently shown in small animals and thus represents a new route for future applications.Thus, this review will focus on examples for OI applications in inflammation, infectious disease, cell tracking as well as neurology, and provides an overview over CLI.