Fig 3.

Quantitative temporal monitoring of cathepsin activity. (A) Timeline of probe administration and imaging. (B) Near-infrared fluorescent images of one representative mouse over a period of 28 days demonstrated the inhibitory effect of dexamethasone at the earlier time points. All figures are of the same color scale. (B) Quantification of near-infrared fluorescent signals from four replicates showed that cathepsin activity at the sites of control microparticles was higher than drug-loaded microparticles at days 3 and 10. (**) indicates P<0.05 by the Student’s two-sample two-tailed t-test.