Photo-based diagnosis and treatment methods are gaining prominence due to increased spatial imaging resolution, minimally invasive modalities involved as well as localized treatment. Recently, nanoparticles (NPs) have been developed and used in photo-based therapeutic applications. While some nanomaterials have inherent photo-based imaging capabilities, others including polymeric NPs act as nanocarriers to deliver various fluorescent dyes or photosensitizers for photoimaging and therapeutic applications. These applications can vary from Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and optical imaging to photothermal therapy (PTT) and chemotherapy. Materials commonly used for development of photo-based NPs ranges from metal-based (gold, silver and silica) to polymer-based (chitosan, dextran, poly ethylene glycol (PEG) and poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA)). Recent research has paved the way for multi-modal 'theranostic' (a combination of therapy and diagnosis) nano-carriers capable of active targeting using cell-specific ligands and carrying multiple therapeutic and imaging agents for accurate diagnosis and controlled drug delivery. This review summarizes the different materials used today to synthesize photo-based NPs, their diagnostic and therapeutic applications as well as the current challenges faced in bringing these novel nano-carriers into clinical practices.

The spatial resolution of fluorescence imaging techniques in deep optically turbid media such as tissues is limited by photon diffusion. To break the diffusion limit and achieve high-resolution and deep-tissue fluorescence imaging, a fundamentally different method was demonstrated based on a concept of ultrasound-switchable fluorescence. The results showed that a small fluorescent tube with a diameter of $180 lm at a depth of $20 mm in an optical scattering medium (l 0 s % 3:2 and l a % 0:026 cm À1 ) can be clearly imaged with a size of $260 lm. The depth-to-resolution ratio is shown to be about one order of magnitude better than other deep-tissue fluorescence imaging techniques. V C 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx

Emission and absorption properties of indocyanine green (ICG) in Intralipid solution have been investigated. The study is focused on relatively low ICG concentration at a range of 0 to 20 μM. A diffusion model was used to analyze the emission properties of ICG solution at different concentrations. In the low-concentration region, the emission strength increases with the concentration of ICG, while in the high-concentration region, the emission decreases with the concentration. In general, a maximum of emission strength exists and its position (concentration) depends on the wavelength of the excitation light, the distance between the source and the detector, and the sample geometry and size. A so-called "inner-cell-effect" and re-absorption of emission photons are found to contribute to the decay of emission strength. Also, in the concentration range of 0 to 2 μM, ICG solution always has a higher absorption coefficient at wavelength 830 nm than that at 660 nm, which is quite different from the ICG in water case.

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