BACKGROUND: Advances in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine over the last three decades have made great progress in the development of diagnostic and therapeutic methodologies for damaged tissues. However, regenerative medicine is still not the first line of treatment for patients due to limited understanding of the tissue regeneration process. Therefore, it is prerequisite to develop molecular imaging strategies combined with appropriate contrast agents to validate the therapeutic progress of damaged tissues. METHODS: The goal of this review is to discuss the progress in the development of near-infrared (NIR) contrast agents and their biomedical applications for labeling cells and scaffolds, as well as monitoring the treatment progress of native tissue in living organisms. We also discuss the design consideration of NIR contrast agents for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine in terms of their physicochemical and optical properties. RESULTS: The use of NIR imaging system and targeted contrast agents can provide high-resolution and high sensitivity imaging to track/monitor the in vivo fate of administered cells, the degradation rate of implanted scaffolds, and the tissue growth and integration of surrounding cells during the therapeutic period. CONCLUSION: NIR fluorescence imaging techniques combined with targeted contrast agents can play a significant role in regenerative medicine by monitoring the therapeutic efficacy of implanted cells and scaffolds which would enhance the development of cell therapies and promote their successful clinical translations.
Contrast Media ; Fluorescence ; Humans ; Molecular Imaging ; Optical Imaging ; Regeneration ; Regenerative Medicine ; Tissue Engineering ; Translations

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the genetic diversity, virulence, and antimicrobial resistance of isolates from clinical patients, tap water systems, and food. Methods: Ninety isolates were obtained from Ma'anshan, Anhui province, China, and subjected to multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) with six housekeeping genes. Their taxonomy was investigated using concatenated sequences, while their resistance to 12 antibiotics was evaluated. Ten putative virulence factors and several resistance genes were identified by PCR and sequencing. Results: The 90 isolates were divided into 84 sequence types, 80 of which were novel, indicating high genetic diversity. The isolates were classified into eight different species. PCR assays identified virulence genes in the isolates, with the enterotoxin and hemolysin genes , , , and found in 47 (52.2%), 13 (14.4%), 22 (24.4%), and 12 (13.3%) of the isolates, respectively. The majority of the isolates (≥ 90%) were susceptible to aztreonam, imipenem, cefepime, chloramphenicol, gentamicin, tetracycline, and ciprofloxacin. However, several resistance genes were detected in the isolates, as well as a new variant. Conclusions Sequence type, virulence properties, and antibiotic resistance vary in isolates from clinical patients, tap water systems, and food.
Aeromonas ; drug effects ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; pathogenicity ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; pharmacology ; China ; Drinking Water ; microbiology ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Food Microbiology ; Genetic Variation ; Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections ; microbiology ; Species Specificity ; Virulence