Optimization of diffuse Raman spectroscopy for in-vivo quantification of foreign body response in a small animal model.

Diffuse Raman spectroscopy (DRS) allows subsurface molecular analysis of optically turbid samples. Numerical modeling of light propagation was used as a method for improving the design of an DRS instrument to maximize the signal to noise ratio () while ensuring safe laser exposure parameters required for measurements. Experimental validation of the model was performed on both phantom samples and disks implanted postmortem to mimic the typical response to foreign bodies (formation of a fibrotic capsule around an implant).

Model-Based Optimization of Laser Excitation and Detection Improves Spectral Contrast in Noninvasive Diffuse Raman Spectroscopy.

Spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) is a powerful technique for subsurface molecular analysis of optically turbid samples. Numerical modeling of light propagation has been used to investigate opportunities for improving spectral contrast and signal to noise ratio when imaging regions of interest located 0-4.5 mm below the surface in polymer bulk material.

Investigating the feasibility of spatially offset Raman spectroscopy for in-vivo monitoring of bone healing in rat calvarial defect models.

A wide range of biomaterials and tissue-engineered scaffolds are being investigated to support and stimulate bone healing in animal models. Using phantoms and rat cadavers, we investigated the feasibility of using spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) to monitor changes in collagen concentration at levels similar to those expected to occur in vivo during bone regeneration (0-0.84 g/cm ).

Induction and measurement of the early stage of a host-parasite interaction using a combined optical trapping and Raman microspectroscopy system.

Understanding and quantifying the temporal acquisition of host cell molecules by intracellular pathogens is fundamentally important in biology. In this study, a recently developed holographic optical trapping (HOT)-based Raman microspectroscopy (RMS) instrument is applied to detect, characterize and monitor in real time the molecular trafficking of a specific molecular species (isotope-labeled phenylalanine (L-Phe(D8)) at the single cell level. This approach enables simultaneous measurement of the chemical composition of human cerebrovascular endothelial cells and the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii in isolation at the very start of the infection process.

Spatially-offset Raman spectroscopy for monitoring mineralization of bone tissue engineering scaffolds: feasibility study based on phantom samples.

Using phantom samples, we investigated the feasibility of spatially-offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) as a tool for monitoring non-invasively the mineralization of bone tissue engineering scaffold . The phantom samples consisted of 3D-printed scaffolds of poly-caprolactone (PCL) and hydroxyapatite (HA) blends, with varying concentrations of HA, to mimic the mineralisation process. The scaffolds were covered by a 4 mm layer of skin to simulate the real measurement conditions.