Bioimaging: Near‐Infrared Fluorescent Nanomaterials for Bioimaging and Sensing (Advanced Optical Materials 2/2017)

Near-infrared light can penetrate biological tissue much deeper than visible light. Therefore, near-infrared fluorescent nanomaterials, reviewed in article number 1600446 by P. Reineck and B. C. Gibson, are critical for the development of light-based biomedical imaging techniques to create new windows into the living body. The image by Marco Capelli shows light exciting nanoparticles in a blood vessel. The particles emit near-infrared light that can be detected for example to create an image of the vasculature for real-time fluorescence-image-guided surgery.