Laser activated fluorescence measurements and morphological features: an in vivo study of clearance time of fluorescein isothiocyanate tagged cell markers

Fourteen BALB/c mice were divided into two groups. One group served as the control and the second group was injected with a squamous cell carcinoma cell line to the tongue. After tumor devel- opment (1-4 weeks), mice were injected with a FITC conjugated CD3 marker to their tongues. Immediately after the marker injection, the clearance of the marker was measured using a laser spectroscopy system. The markers were excited by an argon laser at 488 nm and the fluorescence signal was measured as a function of time. A biopsy was taken from every mouse after the procedure and the excised tissue was histologically evaluated. Analysis of clearance times revealed a second order exponential decay for both groups with a slower pace of signal clearance for the sick mice. © 2002 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumen-