Manipulated magnetic nano particles for photonic biomedical mapping

Our main goal is to develop a new speckle based imaging modality for biological applications. The 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 such as different sizes, concentration and chemical coating of the MNPs. In ex vivo experiment we demonstrates the potential of the proposed speckle imaging method for detecting the presence of arterial plaque. By taking those results into consideration, the method holds a great promise for non-invasive speckle imaging.