Research Interests

My research is focused on the evaluation of the physico-chemical properties, biodistribution and imaging performance of different contrast agents for photoacoustic and optical imaging. PhotoAcoustic Imaging (PAI) is a biomedical imaging modality based on the use of laser-generated ultrasounds, a PA image can be considered as an ultrasound image in which the contrast depends from the optical properties, particularly optical absorption. In particular, my research interests are focused on the evaluation in vitro and in vivo of several small near infrared (NIR) absorbing dyes, dye loaded nanosystems and metal phthalocyanine.