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. 2011 Oct 18;6(10):e26385. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0026385

Figure 4. Fluorescence microscopy of rabbit aorta segments after ex vivo NP incubation for different times.

Figure 4

A, B: 12 month cholesterol diet rabbit incubated with Alexa Fluor 488-labeled NP (green) for 15 minutes and 6 hours, showing progressively deeper penetration into intimal plaque region. Media shows elastin autofluorescence (yellow-green) only. Blue = nuclear stain C: 3 month cholesterol diet rabbit aorta incubated for 6 hours with Alexa Fluor 488-labeled NP showing minimal plaque thickening and only minor particle accumulation at endothelial surface. D: “Fluorescence score” of ex vivo NP-treated 12-month diet rabbit aorta segments incubated for different times, confirming greater penetration with longer NP exposure times. The exponential fit to the data indicates an asymptotic increase in penetration with little additional diffusion beyond 2 hour incubations.