Photoacoustic recovery after photothermal bleaching in living cells

We present an innovative method, photoacoustic recovery after photothermal bleaching (PRAP), for studying particle dynamics at micron scale via photoacoustic imaging. As an intuitive way to visualize and quantify dynamic processes, PRAP is demonstrated first in a simple phantom study and then in a more complex measurement involving live cells. Compared with the conventional fluorescence-based approach, PRAP provides high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) imaging with minimal bleaching-induced artifacts during the recovery stage, ideal for monitoring the diffusive and kinetic processes inside a cell.