PHOTONIC BIOMEDICAL MAPPING VIA MANIPULATED MAGNETIC NANO PARTICLES

Our main goal is to develop a new speckle based imaging modality for biological applications. Our inovative method is based on detection and manipulation of targeted conjugated magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), which can specifically target cells or other live tissue, and form a concentrated assembly yielding speckle imaging capabilities. The MNPs detection technique employs temporal tracking of secondary speckle patterns while applying a magnetic excitation field that oscillates the particles. We experimentally demonstrate that placing MNPs in an alternating current (AC) electromagnetic field gives rise to modulation of incident light scattered from the material. It was found, via in vitro and two ex vivo experiments, that the resultant modulation spectrum of the speckle patterns is directly associated with the chemical properties of the MNPs and demonstrates the potential of the proposed speckle imaging method for detecting the presence of arterial plaque.