Surface-Enhanced Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy in Tissue.

One aim of personalized medicine is to use continuous or on-demand monitoring of metabolites to adjust prescription dosages in real time. Surface-enhanced spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SESORS) is an optical technique capable of detecting surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)-active targets under a barrier, which may enable frequent metabolite monitoring. Here we investigate how the intensity of the signal from SERS-active material varies spatially through tissue, both experimentally and in a computational model.

Insertable Biosensors: Combining Implanted Sensing Materials with Wearable Monitors.

Insertable biosensor systems are medical diagnostic devices with two primary components: an implantable biosensor within the body and a wearable monitor that can remotely interrogate the biosensor from outside the body. Because the biosensor does not require a physical connection to the electronic monitor, insertable biosensor systems promise improved patient comfort, reduced inflammation and infection risk, and extended operational lifetimes relative to established percutaneous biosensor systems. However, the lack of physical connection also presents technical challenges that have necessitated new innovations in developing sensing chemistries, transduction methods, and communication modalities.

Skin optical properties in the obese and their relation to body mass index: a review.

Significance: Obesity is a worldwide epidemic contributing directly to several cardiovascular risk factors including hypertension and type 2 diabetes. Wearable devices are becoming better at quantifying biomarkers relevant for the management of health and fitness. Unfortunately, both anecdotal evidence and recent studies indicate that some wearables have higher levels of error when utilized by populations with darker skin tones and high body mass index (BMI).

Comparison of SERS pH probe responses after microencapsulation within hydrogel matrices.

Significance: Personalized medicine requires the tracking of an individual's metabolite levels over time to detect anomalies and evaluate the body's response to medications. Implanted sensors offer effective means to continuously monitor specific metabolite levels, provided they are accurate, stable over long time periods, and do no harm.

Aim: Four types of hydrogel embedded with pH-sensitive sensors were evaluated for their accuracy, sensitivity, reversibility, longevity, dynamic response, and consistency in static versus dynamic conditions and long-term storage.

High-throughput spectral system for interrogation of dermally-implanted luminescent sensors.

Ratiometric luminescent microparticle sensors have been developed for sensing biochemical targets such as glucose in interstitial fluid, enabling use of dermal implants for on-demand monitoring. For these sensor systems to be deployed in vivo, a matched optoelectronic system for interrogation of dermally-implanted sensors was previously designed, constructed, and evaluated experimentally. During evaluation experiments, it revealed that the system efficiency was compromised by losses due to fiber connections of a commercial spectrometer.

Design of an optical system for interrogation of implanted luminescent sensors and verification with silicone skin phantoms.

Implantable luminescent sensors are being developed for on-demand monitoring of blood glucose levels. For these sensors to be deployed in vivo, a matched external hardware system is needed. In this paper, we designed a compact, low-cost optical system with highly efficient photon delivery and collection using advanced optical modeling software.

Layer-by-layer assembly for drug delivery and related applications.

Introduction: High-performance drug delivery systems are always made through assembly and hybridization of multiple components, each of which possesses its own role within the unified delivery function. The layer-by-layer (LbL) adsorption technique offers huge freedom in material selection and flexibility of structural design, which are fully matched with the fabrication needs of drug delivery materials requiring complicated designs.

Areas Covered: In this review, film-type LbL assemblies and their drug delivery application are focused on, with selected examples from recent years.

Microparticle ratiometric oxygen sensors utilizing near-infrared emitting quantum dots.

Luminescent sensors incorporating two luminophores, an indicator and a reference, offer many advantages over intensity measurements from sensors made with one indicator dye. Quantum dots have yet to be widely employed as insensitive reference luminophores in such systems. This work describes the use of near-infrared emitting quantum dots in conjunction with a long-lifetime platinum(II) porphyrin phosphor in a microsphere-based, ratiometric oxygen sensor.

Role of porosity in tuning the response range of microsphere-based glucose sensors.

Luminescent microspheres encapsulating glucose oxidase have recently been developed as implantable glucose sensors. Previous work has shown that the response range and sensitivity can be tuned by varying the thickness and composition of transport-controlling nanofilm coatings. Nevertheless, the linear response range of these sensors falls significantly below the desired clinical range for in vivo monitoring.

High-efficiency optical systems for interrogation of dermally-implanted sensors.

Ratiometric Luminescent microparticle sensors have been developed for sensing biochemical targets such as glucose in interstitial fluid, enabling use of dermal implants for on-demand monitoring. For these sensor systems to be deployed in vivo, a matched optoelectronic system for interrogation of dermally-implanted sensors was previously designed, constructed, and evaluated experimentally. During evaluation experiments, it revealed that the system efficiency was compromised by losses due to fiber connections, the entrance aperture, and the entrance slit of the spectrometer.

Three-dimensional, multiwavelength Monte Carlo simulations of dermally implantable luminescent sensors.

Dermally implanted luminescent sensors have been proposed for monitoring of tissue biochemistry, which has the potential to improve treatments for conditions such as diabetes and kidney failure. Effective in vivo monitoring via noninvasive transdermal measurement of emission from injected microparticles requires a matched optoelectronic system for excitation and collection of luminescence. We applied Monte Carlo modeling to predict the characteristics of output luminescence from microparticles in skin to facilitate hardware design.

Experimental validation of an optical system for interrogation of dermally-implanted microparticle sensors.

Dermally-implanted microparticle sensors are being developed for on-demand monitoring of blood sugar levels. For these to be deployed in vivo, a matched optoelectronic system for delivery of excitation, collection and analysis of escaping fluorescent signal is needed. Previous studies predicted the characteristics of fluorescence from microparticle sensors to facilitate design of hardware system.

Enhancing the longevity of microparticle-based glucose sensors towards 1 month continuous operation.

Luminescent microspheres encapsulating glucose oxidase have recently been reported as potential implantable sensors, but the operational lifetime of these systems has been limited by enzyme degradation. We report here that the longevity of these enzymatic microparticle-based sensors has been extended by the coimmobilization of glucose oxidase (GOx) and catalase (CAT) into the sensor matrix. A mathematical model was used to compare the response and longevity of the sensors with and without catalase.

Optical instrument design for interrogation of dermally-implanted luminescent microparticle sensors.

Luminescence-based sensors have been developed in microparticle formats for biochemical targets such as glucose, enabling use of dermal implants for on-demand monitoring. For these to be deployed and interrogated in vivo, a matched optoelectronic system for delivery of excitation, collection and analysis of luminescence response is needed. In this work, simulations based on Monte Carlo ray-tracing were performed for models of luminescent microparticle materials embedded in skin.

Polymer/colloid surface micromachining: micropatterning of hybrid multilayers.

Fabrication of multicomponent patterned films comprising polymer/nanoparticle multilayers using conventional lithography and bottom-up layer-by-layer nanofabrication techniques is described. The work is motivated by the potential to extend polymer surface micromachining capabilities toward construction of integrated systems by connecting discrete domains of active materials containing functional nanoparticles. Modified surfaces illustrate tunability of the physical (thickness, roughness, 3D structures) and chemical (inorganic/organic material combinations) properties of the nanocomposite micropatterns.