Super-resolution functional photoacoustic microscopy via label-free cell tracking

TY - JOUR

T1 - Super-resolution functional photoacoustic microscopy via label-free cell tracking

AU - Zhong, Fenghe

AU - Wang, Zhuoying

AU - Lee, Youngseop

AU - Han, Jiaxiao

AU - Sun, Naidi

AU - Yang, Shuo

AU - Ji, Shengyun

AU - Zhang, Hao F.

AU - Sun, Cheng

AU - Hu, Song

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2026.

PY - 2026/12

Y1 - 2026/12

N2 - Microvascular function and oxygen metabolism are central to tissue and organ health. However, label-free methods for imaging oxygen dynamics in three-dimensional (3D) microvascular networks at the level of single red blood cells (RBCs)—the fundamental units of oxygen transport in vivo—remain lacking. Here, we introduce super-resolution functional photoacoustic microscopy (SR-fPAM), which spatiotemporally tracks RBC movements under dual-wavelength excitation. SR-fPAM reconstructs super-resolved 3D microvascular architecture comparable to two-photon microscopy while providing quantitative measurements of RBC flow and oxygenation. In live mice, SR-fPAM revealed redistribution of oxygen and hemodynamics across 3D microvascular networks following a single-vessel stroke. These findings establish SR-fPAM as an enabling tool that bridges a critical gap in oxygen-metabolism imaging and opens new avenues for studying microvascular health and disease with unprecedented functional insights. (Figure presented.)

AB - Microvascular function and oxygen metabolism are central to tissue and organ health. However, label-free methods for imaging oxygen dynamics in three-dimensional (3D) microvascular networks at the level of single red blood cells (RBCs)—the fundamental units of oxygen transport in vivo—remain lacking. Here, we introduce super-resolution functional photoacoustic microscopy (SR-fPAM), which spatiotemporally tracks RBC movements under dual-wavelength excitation. SR-fPAM reconstructs super-resolved 3D microvascular architecture comparable to two-photon microscopy while providing quantitative measurements of RBC flow and oxygenation. In live mice, SR-fPAM revealed redistribution of oxygen and hemodynamics across 3D microvascular networks following a single-vessel stroke. These findings establish SR-fPAM as an enabling tool that bridges a critical gap in oxygen-metabolism imaging and opens new avenues for studying microvascular health and disease with unprecedented functional insights. (Figure presented.)

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105031682066

U2 - 10.1038/s41377-026-02235-3

DO - 10.1038/s41377-026-02235-3

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105031682066

SN - 2047-7538

VL - 15

JO - Light: Science and Applications

JF - Light: Science and Applications

IS - 1

M1 - 146

ER -