Early detection and timely treatment of nerve injury is crucial for the repair of nerve function. One week following a crush injury, heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) is over-expressed along the entire length of the sciatic nerve. Herein, we present an approach to detect injured nerves by photoacoustic microscopy after labeling the injured nerve with HSP27 antibody-conjugated gold nanoparticles. The studies reveal that nanoprobe administration enabled the detection of injured nerves by photoacoustic
