Brian Z. Bentz

In vivo mouse fluorescence imaging for folate-targeted delivery and release kinetics.

Many cancer cells over-express folate receptors, and this provides an opportunity for both folate-targeted fluorescence imaging and the development of targeted anti-cancer drugs. We present an optical imaging modality that allows for the monitoring and evaluation of drug delivery and release through disulfide bond reduction inside a tumor in vivo for the first time. A near-infrared folate-targeting fluorophore pair was synthesized and used to image a xenograft tumor grown from KB cells in a live mouse. The in vivo results are shown to be in agreement with previous in vitro studies, confirming the validity and feasibility of our method as an effective tool for preclinical studies in drug development.

Printed optics: phantoms for quantitative deep tissue fluorescence imaging

Three-dimensional (3D) printing allows for complex or physiologically realistic phantoms, useful, for example, in developing biomedical imaging methods and for calibrating measured data. However, available 3D printing materials provide a limited range of static optical properties. We overcome this limitation with a new method using stereolithography that allows tuning of the printed phantoms optical properties to match that of target tissues, accomplished by printing a mixture of polystyrene microspheres and clear photopolymer resin. We show that Mie theory can be used to design the optical properties, and demonstrate the method by fabricating a mouse phantom and imaging it using fluorescence optical diffusion tomography.

Diffuse optical localization of blood vessels and 3D printing for guiding oral surgery

Diffuse optical imaging through centimeters of tissue has emerged as a powerful tool in biomedical research. However, applications in the operating theater have been limited in part due to data set requirements and computational burden. We present an approach that uses a small number of optical source-detector pairs that allows for the fast localization of arteries in the roof of the mouth and has the potential to reduce complications during oral surgery. The arteries are modeled as multiple-point absorbers, allowing localization of their complex shapes. The method is demonstrated using a printed tissue-simulating mouth phantom. Furthermore, we use the extracted position information to fabricate a custom surgical guide using 3D printing that could protect the arteries during surgery.

Printed optics: phantoms for quantitative deep tissue fluorescence imaging: publisher's note.

This note points out a number of corrections that were omitted from the published version of the article [Opt. Lett.41, 5230 (2016)OPLEDP0146-959210.1364/OL.41.005230].

In Vivo Fluorescence Imaging for Folate-Targeted Kinetics

We demonstrate the in vivo imaging of a mouse tumor using fluorescence optical diffusion tomography and the extraction of kinetic information from a compartment model, yielding the first folate drug release kinetics inside cancer cells.

In Vivo Optical Imaging of Kinetics in a Small Animal for Folate-Targeted Drug Development

The delivery and release of folate-targeted anti-cancer drugs has been largely unknown, inhibiting drug development. We show how to access this information and illustrate this with in vivo mouse images of fluorophore pair release kinetics.