We developed an indocyanine green J-aggregated (ICG-JA) nanoparticle platform for near infrared photoacoustic imaging (NIR-PAI). This platform achieves a facile synthesis, size tunability and direct functionalization. In an in vitro setting, we compared the PA signal of ICG-JA (at its optical absorption peak of 895 nm) to be two times that of whole blood. We then imaged HeLa cells with ICG-JA functionalized with RGD-peptide using NIR-PAI. Using a multi-wavelength NIR-PAI system, TriTom™, volumetric whole-body images were acquired of mice administed with RGD-peptide functionalized ICG-JA. Results indicated enhanced visualization of the liver, spleen and thoracic arteries with a contrast-to-noise-ratio of 2.42.
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