• Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences
  • Vol. 16, Issue 4, 2243004 (2023)
Xinlin Chen*, Yi Pan, Ping Qiu, and Ke Wang
Author Affiliations
  • Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, P. R. China
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    DOI: 10.1142/S1793545822430040 Cite this Article
    Xinlin Chen, Yi Pan, Ping Qiu, Ke Wang. Deep-skin third-harmonic generation (THG) imaging in vivo excited at the 2200 nm window[J]. Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences, 2023, 16(4): 2243004 Copy Citation Text show less

    Abstract

    The skin is heterogeneous and exerts strong scattering and aberration onto excitation light in multiphoton microscopy (MPM). Shifting to longer excitation wavelengths may help reduce skin scattering and aberration, potentially enabling larger imaging depths. However, previous demonstrations of skin MPM employ excitation wavelengths only up to the 1700nm window, leaving an open question as to whether longer excitation wavelengths are suitable for deep-skin MPM. Here, in order to explore the longer-wavelength territory, first, we demonstrate characterization of the broadband transmittance of excised mouse skin, revealing a high transmittance window at 2200nm. Then, we demonstrate third-harmonic generation (THG) imaging in mouse skin in vivo excited at this window. With 9mW optical power on the skin surface operating at 1MHz repetition rate, we can get THG signals of 250μm below the skin surface. Comparative THG imaging excited at the 1700nm window shows that as imaging depth increases, THG signals decay even faster than those excited at 2200nm. Our results thus uncover the 2200nm window as a new, promising excitation window potential for deep-skin MPM.
    Xinlin Chen, Yi Pan, Ping Qiu, Ke Wang. Deep-skin third-harmonic generation (THG) imaging in vivo excited at the 2200 nm window[J]. Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences, 2023, 16(4): 2243004
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