Skip to main content
  • Book
  • © 2021

Transparency in Biology

Making the Invisible Visible

  • Is the first book to focus on the transparency of biological tissues
  • Provides part of the content on video accessible on the internet
  • Serves useful to undergraduate students with only a knowledge of elementary physics

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check for access.

Table of contents (11 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-viii
  2. Introduction

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. Introduction to Transparency

      • Kohei Soga
      Pages 3-32
  3. NIR-Fluorescence Imaging and Phosphors

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 33-33
    2. Organic Dyes for NIR Imaging

      • Masao Kamimura
      Pages 57-71
    3. Carbon Nanotubes—Potential of Use for Deep Bioimaging

      • Atsuto Onoda, Masakazu Umezawa
      Pages 85-107
  4. Application of NIR Light for Biomedical Photonics

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 137-137
    2. Nanothermometry for Deep Tissues by Using Near-Infrared Fluorophores

      • Masakazu Umezawa, Karina Nigoghossian
      Pages 139-166
    3. Computed Tomography

      • Toshihiro Sera
      Pages 167-187
  5. Application of NIR Light for Medical Photonics

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 189-189
    2. NIR Light Induced Photodynamic Therapy

      • Masao Kamimura
      Pages 191-201
    3. NIR Hyperspectral Imaging

      • Kyohei Okubo
      Pages 203-222
    4. Multimodal Imaging with NIR Light

      • Thi Kim Dung Doan
      Pages 223-263

About this book

This book explains transparency in biology with emphasis on bending and absorption, which together are the essence of transparency. The reader is provided with an understanding of why the interior of the body can be made to appear transparent through the application of elementary physics. Based on the principle of transparency, emerging imaging techniques using near-infrared light to view the body transparently are explained with examples such as cancer detection and temperature imaging of deep tissues. This book is useful to many researchers, including biologists, physicists, chemists, materials scientists, and device engineers as well as developers—all who seek a deep understanding of transparency in bioimaging.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Materials Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, Tokyo, Japan

    Kohei Soga, Masakazu Umezawa, Kyohei Okubo

About the editors

Kohei Soga started his research on rare-earth-doped luminescent materials in 1990 as a graduate student of the University of Tokyo. His thesis concentrated on relating the spectroscopic properties of the rare-earth ions and the structure of the host glass. After obtaining his Ph.D. degree in 1995, he expanded his research onto the photonic applications, especially on that relating to optical communication. Since 2004, he has focussed his research on the interdisciplinary fields of bio- and nano-photonics with the aim to develop a biophotonic system with near-infrared excitation.


Masakazu Umezawa received his M.Pharm. (2008) and Ph.D. (2010) degrees under the supervision of Prof. Ken Takeda in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Tokyo University of Science. He worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow, Assistant Professor, and Junior Associate Professor until 2016 and then joined the Department of Materials Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, as a Project Research Associate to promote the research on “deeper and precise fluorescence bioimaging through the second biological window (SBW)” supervised by Prof. Kohei Soga. His research interests are “nano-bio” interactions for the designing of safer and functionalized nanomaterials and their biomedical applications.


Kyohei Okubo received his M.E. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Tsukuba, Japan, in 2014 and 2017, respectively. From 2017 to 2018, he has worked in the University of Tokyo as Japanese Society of Promotion and Science (JSPS) Postdoctoral Researcher. In 2018, he joined the Department of Materials Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, as an Assistant Professor. He is currently involved in the development of near-infrared bioimaging and biomedical devices.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access