Résumé
Optical imaging is a rapidly developing field of research aimed at noninvasive monitoring of disease progression, evaluating the effects and pharmacokinetic of a drug, or identifying pathological biomarkers. To this end, it requires the development of targeting and highly specific contrast agents. In fluorescence imaging, an external light of appropriate wavelength is used to excite the fluorescent molecule, followed almost immediately by the release of longer wavelength, lower energy light for imaging. Fluorescence is increasingly used for imaging and has provided remarkable results. However this technique presents several limitations, especially due to tissue autofluorescence under external illumination and weak tissue penetration of low wavelength excitation light. To overcome these drawbacks, we have developed an innovative technique using persistent luminescence nanoparticles (PLNP) for optical imaging in small animal. Such nanoparticles can be excited before systemic injection, and their biodistribution monitored in real-time for dozen of minutes without the need for any external illumination source. This review article will focus on recent works undertaken in our laboratory on the synthesis of PLNP, their surface modifications and applications for bioimaging.