Abstract

We review recent progress in tumor imaging in vivo using fluorescent tags, highlight the problems of fluorescence imaging in small animals, discuss recent advances in near-infrared fluorochromes and quantum dots, and point to some future possibilities. GFP-based fluorescence imaging is briefly discussed. The authors believe that improvements in near-infrared fluorochromes are required to enable practical imaging in tissues at centimeter depths.

Keywords: animals, antibodies, monoclonal, antigens, neoplasm, fluorescent dyes, green fluorescent protein, imaging, nanotechnology, quantum dots