Magnetic molecular imaging: Sensitivity, resolution, and specificity

Molecular imaging usually employs a labeling technique, mainly optical labeling or magnetic labeling, to highlight target molecules. While optical labeling uses a wavelength parameter to achieve molecular specificity, there is no analogous parameter in magnetic labeling to achieve molecular specificity. In addition, a technique with high sensitivity is required to measure the quantity of the magnetically labeled molecules and provide their spatial information. Using scanning magnetic imaging (SMI) and force-induced remnant magnetization spectroscopy (FIRMS) techniques that are based on atomic magnetometry, we have achieved high sensitivity, good spatial resolution, and molecular specificity for magnetic sensing.