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Fluorescence-Guided Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging For Colon Cancer Screening: A Preliminary Mouse Study., Arun K. Iyer

Arun Iyer

A new concept for cancer screening has been preliminarily investigated. A cancer targeting agent loaded with a near-infrared (NIR) dye was topically applied on the tissue to highlight cancer-suspect locations and guide optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging, which was used to further investigate tissue morphology at the micron scale. A pilot study on ApcMin mice has been performed to preliminarily test this new cancer screening approach. As a cancer-targeting agent, poly(epsilon-caprolactone) microparticles (PCLMPs), labeled with a NIR dye and functionalized with an RGD (argenine-glycine-aspartic acid) peptide, were used. This agent recognizes the α(ν)β(3) integrin receptor (ABIR), which is over-expressed by …