Multiphoton FLIM is gaining ground as a clinical tool (Conference Presentation)

Multiphoton fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) is gaining ground as a non-invasive and very sensitive method in life sciences, and even as a clinical tool. First clinical devices employing FLIM are on the market, e.g. MPTflex. A hot topic is using metabolic imaging to investigate melanoma lesions (Fig.1). This method utilizes imaging of the ratio of the amounts of the free and protein-bound forms of the intracellular autofluorescent metabolic co-enzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) [1,2,3,4]. In another study, we investigated safety aspects of nanoparticle based sun screens. Multiphoton FLIM enables tracing of nanoparticles after application on the skin [5]. Furthermore, in case of penetration into the viable epidermis metabolic imaging can be employed to investigate toxicity on skin cells [6].