Imaging strategies for bioinspired materials

Abstract

Biological materials have inspired the development of new molecules and systems to assist in clinical diagnostics and therapeutics. For clinical and research purposes many different imaging modalities are available to detect or assess the effect of these molecules in humans or animals. The most commonly used are positron or single photon emission computed tomography, computerized tomography, biophotonic imaging, confocal laser endomicroscopy, and magnetic resonance imaging. These imaging modalities provide varying levels of resolution power, depth penetration, and sensitivity. Numerous variants of these modalities are now available with the purpose of overcoming current limitations, such as poor sensitivity and resolution, contrast agents and ionizing radiation toxicity, time-consuming procedures, and cost. This chapter summarizes the principles, advantages, and limitations for each imaging modality while also providing examples of applications and discussing future developments and perspectives in this area.