Real-time imaging of bacteria in living mice using a fluorescent dye

Abstract

A novel technique developed in the laboratories of Bradley D. Smith and David Piwnica-Worms for imaging bacterial infections in intact living nude mice using a novel fluorescent dye, a conjugate of a NIR carbocyanine dye and two zinc(II) dipicolylamine units, allows relatively deep imaging of bacterial infection in real time. The behavior of the mice indicated good tolerance of the probe. The probe's water-octanol partition coefficient calculated by Hansch and Leo's procedure demonstrates that it is slightly lipophilic and therefore could enter mouse cells. Extant values of the physicochemical and spectroscopic parameters relevant to practical use are tabulated.

Key words::

• bacterial infection
• Escherichia coli
• near-infrared dyes
• nude mice
• optical imaging
• partition coefficient
• real-time
• Staphylococcus aureus
• water-octanol
• zinc(II)dipicolylamine

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.