Acoustic loudness factor as an experimental parameter for benchmarking small molecule photoacoustic probes
Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) is an emerging biomedical imaging modality with promise as a point-of-care diagnostic. This imaging modality relies on optical excitation of an absorber followed by production of ultrasound through the photoacoustic effect, resulting in high spatial resolution with imaging depths in the centimeter range. Herein, we disclose the discovery of the first benchmarking parameter for small molecule dye performance in PAI, which we term the acoustic loudness factor (ALF). ALF can predict dye performance in PAI without the need for access to photoacoustic instrumentation and can be used to guide the systematic evaluation of design strategies to enhance photoacoustic signal. Lastly, we demonstrate that enhancements in ALF can be translated to in vivo PAI. Akin to the use of fluorescence brightness in fluorophore design and evaluation for fluorescence imaging, we anticipate that ALF will guide the design and evaluation of improved probes for PAI.
Authors
- Ruwen Yin
- Junjie Yao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2381-706X)
- Xinqi Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6276-6947)
- Kelsey P. Kubelick (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6342-2994)
- Fang Yuan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1987-0885)
- Cliff I. Stains (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3165-4539)
- Frederik Brøndsted (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8402-2562)
- Luca Menozzi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7542-1051)
- Julia L. McAfee
- Harry R Shield
- Jerimiah D Moore
Institutions
- University of Nebraska–Lincoln (US)
- Oregon Health & Science University (US)
- Duke University (US)
- University of Virginia (US)
- Virginia Tech (US)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-04-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59121-6
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Photoacoustic and Ultrasonic Imaging
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.37
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- North Carolina Biotechnology Center
- University of Virginia
- Virginia Commonwealth University
- Jefferson Scholars Foundation
- National Institutes of Health
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- NIH Office of the Director
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke