Cancer imaging

Cancer is characterized by many morphological and metabolic changes. However, diagnosing, characterizing, and treating cancer remain complex challenges. In the Biophotonics Imaging Lab, we are applying light to investigate these issues. 

By using optical imaging methods, such as optical coherence tomography (OCT), second harmonic generation (SHG), and multiphoton microscopy, we can probe deep into tissues and characterize the unperturbed native tumor environment in vivo. These methods are all label-free, which means that tissues and live animals can be imaged without the complications of adding exogenous agents. 

Recently, more "light" has been shed on the role that extracellular vesicles (EVs) play in  cancer. EVs may contribute to the metastatic and premetastatic tissue microenvironment, providing cell-to-cell communication Our work has found that EVs have can be imaged with our SLAM microscopy and that cancer-related EVs have a unique optical signature. 

 

Cancer is characterized by many different physical and biochemical properties, many of which can be examined and studied with optical imaging. It’s well documented that cancer cells undergo a metabolic reprogramming, called the Warburg Effect, which can be observed through label free multiphoton imaging of autofluorescence metabolic cofactors NADH and FAD. Read more...

EVs are nano-sized protein, nucleic acid, lipid and metabolites containing membranous lipid bilayer vesicles that are secreted by multiple cell types. They are generally divided into two categories: ectosomes and exosomes. Ectosomes are vesicles formed from the cell plasma membrane sprouting outwards. These include microvesicles, microparticles and large vesicles with a size ranging from 50 to 1000 nm in diameter. Exosomes are small EVs in a size range of 40-160 nm in diameter with an endosomal origin. Read more...

Ex Vivo Tumor Imaging

The majority of the current intraoperative optical imaging techniques involve labeling which perturbs the tissue microenvironment and alters the optical signatures of various biochemical processes. In contrast, multiple nonlinear optical imaging (NLOI) modalities have been demonstrated to have the ability to visualize microstructures and provide molecular and functional information. Read more...

SLAM can see the morphological and metastatic alternations in tumor microenvironment during the chemotherapy. In vivo study with PDX mice showed that SLAM can find the effective chemotherapy regimen leading to personalized therapy. Read more...