Revolutionizing Biopharmaceutical Development with Quantitative Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography (MSOT)

In vivo optical imaging technologies are increasingly used for optimization of various stages in the drug discovery process as they can save cost and reduce time to market for the pharmaceutical industry. This is driven by the need for in vivo visualization of biomarkers involved in disease progression and drug responses over time on the same living animal with high sensitivity, spatial resolution, and ability for quantitative longitudinal studies. Bio-optics provide for highly diverse contrast mechanisms, including the direct visualization of oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin, various tissue intrinsic fluorochromes but also the use of fluorescent proteins and probes for highly specific targeting of cellular and subcellular processes. However so far, effective optical imaging at depths that go beyond microscopy were limited by image blurring due to photon scattering resulting in low resolution and image fidelity. In this chapter, we focus on the multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT), a new powerful addition to the molecular imaging arsenal that brings the best out of the optical imaging potential. We showcase how this technology can become the method of choice in small animal imaging applications and how the process significantly impacts basic research and discovery of modern biopharmaceuticals.