Improvement of signal-to-noise ratio of optoacoustic signals from double-walled carbon nanotubes by using an array of dual-wavelength high-power diode lasers

Optoacoustic (OA) imaging is a rising biomedical technique that has attracted much interest over the last 15 years. This technique permits to visualize the internal soft tissues in depth by using short laser pulses, able to generate ultrasonic signals in a large frequency range. It combines the high contrast of optical imaging with the high resolution of ultrasound systems. The OA signals detected from the whole surface of the body serve to reconstruct in detail the image of the internal tissues, where the absorbed optical energy distribution outlines the regions of interest. In fact, the use of contrast agents could improve the detection of growing anomalies in soft tissues, such as carcinomas. This work proposes the use of double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) as a potential nontoxic biodegradable contrast agent applicable in OA to reveal the presence of malignant in-depth tissues in near infrared (NIR) wavelength range (0.75–1.4 μm), where the biological tissues are fairly transparent to optical radiation. A dual-wavelength (870 and 905 nm) OA system is presented, based on arrays of high power diode lasers (HPDLs) that generate ultrasound signals from a DWCNT solution embedded within a biological phantom. The OA signals generated by DWCNTs are compared with those obtained using black ink, considered to be a very good absorber at these wavelengths. The experiments prove that DWCNTs are a potential contrast agent for optoacoustic spectroscopy (OAS).