Comparison of optical and photoacoustic response of laser-synthesized TiN nanoparticles

Photoacoustic Imaging (PAI) has emerged as a powerful imaging technique that combines advantages of optical absorption contrast with the ability to penetrate deep into biological tissues using ultrasound waves. Exogenous chromophores, including light-absorbing nanoparticles (NPs), can significantly enhance the photoacoustic response and provide photoacoustic contrast for various regions in organism. We recently introduced laser-synthesized TiN NPs as a promising alternative plasmonic nanomaterial, having exceptionally high optical absorption in the window of biological tissue transparency. In this study, we continue our evaluation of laser-synthesized TiN NPs as a contrast agent for PAI by comparative studying of optical and photoacoustic response of tissue-mimicking phantoms containing TiN NPs. We demonstrated that laser-synthesized TiN NPs preserve their superior photoacoustic performance in the conditions of tissue-like media. Our results confirm high potential of TiN NPs to serve as an effective exogenous contrast agent for PAI.