Elina A. Genina

Optical Clearing of Human Dura Mater

The changes in the optical parameters of the human dura mater in the spectral range 400–700 nm caused by the action of an aqueous solution of mannitol with a concentration of 0.16 g/ml are studied in vitro. The diffusion of mannitol into the tissue leads to a partial matching between the refractive indices of the structure-forming elements (the collagen fibrils) and the base substance of the dura mater (the interstitial fluid). As a result, the light scattering by the biological tissue in the entire spectral range under study is decreased, on the average, by a factor of 1.5–2. The immersion of the biological tissue is shown to cause a decrease in the absorption of the dura mater in the range of the blood absorption bands by a factor of 1.2–1.6. The results presented may prove to be useful in the laser therapy and optical diagnostics of brain diseases.

Immersion clearing of human blood in the visible and near-infrared spectral regions

The possibility of the immersion clearing of human blood in the visible and near-IR spectral regions is considered and theoretically substantiated. On the basis of the model presented, the spectral behavior of the scattering and absorption characteristics of blood upon its immersion clearing by glucose is analyzed.

Optical properties of mucous membrane in the spectral range 350-2000 nm

The optical characteristics of the mucous membrane from the human maxillary sinus are studied experimentally. The experiments were carried out in vitro in the spectral range 350–2000 nm. On the basis of the measured total transmittance and diffuse reflectance spectra, the absorption and transport scattering coefficients are calculated in the entire range in terms of the inverse adding-doubling method.

Effect of storage conditions of skin samples on their optical characteristics

The optical characteristics of skin samples are experimentally studied ex vivo and in vitro at different storage conditions. The experiments are performed on a Cary-2415 spectrophotometer in the spectral range 400–700 nm. Based on the measured diffuse reflectance and total transmittance spectra, the spectra of the absorption and reduced scattering coefficients are calculated in terms of the inverse adding-doubling method. It is shown that the method of storage of samples mainly affects the reduced scattering coefficient of biotissue. Thus, upon storage of skin in an isotonic solution and in its absence, the reduced scattering coefficient increases ∼1.5 and ∼2 times, respectively, compared to the value of this parameter for the intact sample. The differences in the absorption spectra of ex vivo samples and samples stored under different conditions are the most noticeable in the absorption range of blood and are significant above 600 nm.

Optical clearing of skin tissue ex vivo with polyethylene glycol

Alterations of the optical and structural (weight, thickness, and square) parameters of skin caused by polyethylene glycol (PEG) with molecular weights of 300 and 400 Da were studied experimentally. The objects of the study were ex vivo skin samples of albino laboratory rats. Collimated transmittance of the skin was measured in the wavelength range 500-900 nm. As a result of exposure to the agents, an increase in the collimated transmittance and a decrease in weight, thickness, and square of skin samples were observed. Analysis of the kinetics of parameters alterations allowed us to measure the diffusion coefficient of the agents in the skin as (1.83 ± 2.22) × 10-6 and (1.70 ± 1.47) × 10-6 cm2/s for PEG-300 and PEG-400, respectively, and the rate of alterations of the structural parameters. The results obtained in this study can be used for the improvement of existing and development of new methods of noninvasive diagnostics and therapy of subcutaneous diseases.

Adjunctive dental therapy via tooth plaque reduction and gingivitis treatment by blue light-emitting diodes tooth brushing

Abstract. The efficacy of blue light-emitting toothbrushes (B-LETBs) (405 to 420 nm, power density 2  mW/cm2) for reduction of dental plaques and gingival inflammation has been evaluated. Microbiological study has shown the multifactor therapeutic action of the B-LETBs on oral pathological microflora: in addition to partial mechanical removal of bacteria, photodynamic action suppresses them up to 97.5%. In the pilot clinical studies, subjects with mild to moderate gingivitis have been randomly divided into two groups: a treatment group that used the B-LETBs and a control group that used standard toothbrushes. Indices of plaque, gingival bleeding, and inflammation have been evaluated. A significant improvement of all dental indices in comparison with the baseline (by 59%, 66%, and 82% for plaque, gingival bleeding, and inflammation, respectively) has been found. The treatment group has demonstrated up to 50% improvement relative to the control group. We have proposed the B-LETBs to serve for prevention of gingivitis or as an alternative to conventional antibiotic treatment of this disease due to their effectiveness and the absence of drug side effects and bacterial resistance.

Optical properties of hair shafts estimated using the digital video microscopic system and inverse Monte Carlo method

A color-camera-based technique was used for evaluation of reflectance and transmittance of the human hair shafts. The inverse Monte Carlo method was used for estimation of hair optical properties - absorption and reduced scattering coefficients. Hair samples have been obtained from ten volunteers. We have investigated blond, brown, black, light- brown and gray hairs. Obtained differences in absorption and scattering properties correlate with structure- morphological features of hair types. Offered method allows one to provide express-analysis of optical properties of a hair shaft, to determined separately absorption and scattering coefficients and melanin content.

Study of glycerol diffusion in skin and myocardium ex vivo under the conditions of developing alloxan-induced diabetes

Diabetes mellitus is one of widespread diseases, the development of which impairs the functioning of organism vital organs. The study of the processes that occur in tissues under diabetic conditions facilitates the development of diabetes diagnostics and treatment methods, as well as the prognosis of its complications. The paper reports a comparative study of glycerol diffusion in skin and myocardium of rats ex vivo in the normal condition and the conditions of alloxan-induced diabetes. The glycerol diffusion coefficients in tissues were determined basing on the analysis of kinetics of collimated light transmittance through tissue samples immersed in 70%-glycerol solution. As a result, it was shown that the glycerol diffusion rate in the tissues of rats with alloxan-induced diabetes is essentially decreased as compared to the control group.

The assesment of effectiveness of plasmonic resonance photothermal therapy in tumor-bearing rats after multiple intravenous administration of gold nanorods

To assess the effectiveness of plasmonic photothermal therapy (PPT) multiple intravenous strategy of gold nanorods (GNRs) administration was used before laser exposure. The model of alveolar liver cancer PC-1 was used in male outbred albino rats, which were intravenously administrated by single and multiple injections of GNRs and then were treated by PPT. The gold dosage was 400 μg (single injection group), 800 μg (double injection group), 1200 μg (triple injection group), and absorption maximum of gold nanorods suspension was at the wavelength of 808 nm. 24 hours after last injection the tumors were irradiated by the 808-nm diode laser during 15 min at power density 2.3 W/cm2. Temperature control of the tumor heating was provided by IR imager. 24 hours after the PPT the half of animals from each group was withdrawn from the experiments and the sampling tumor tissue for morphological study was performed. In survived animals the growth of tumors was evaluated during 21 days after the PPT. The antitumor effects of PPT after triple intravenous injection were comparable with those obtained at direct intratumoral administration of similar total dose of GNRs. The effectiveness of PPT depended on gold accumulation in tumor, probably, due to sufficient vascularization of tumor tissue.

Study of the epidermis ablation effect on the efficiency of optical clearing of skin in vivo

We present the results of a comparative analysis of optical immersion clearing of skin in laboratory animals in vivo with and without preliminary ablation of epidermis. Laser ablation is implemented using a setup based on a pulsed erbium laser (λ = 2940 nm). The size of the damaged region amounted to 6 × 6 mm, the depth being smaller than 50 μm. As an optical clearing agent (OCA), use is made of polyethylene glycol (PEG-300). Based on optical coherence tomography, we use the single scattering model to estimate the scattering coefficient in the process of optical clearing in 2 regions at depths of 50−170 μm and 150−400 μm. The results show that skin surface ablation leads to the local oedema of the affected region that increases the scattering coefficient. However, the intense evaporation of water from the ablation zone facilitates the optical clearing at the expense of tissue dehydration, particularly in the upper layers. The assessment of the optical clearing efficiency shows that the efficiency exceeding 30% can be achieved at a depth from 50 to 170 μm in 120 min after ablation, as well as after the same ablation with subsequent application of PEG-300, which increases the efficiency of the immersion method by almost 1.8 times. At a depth from 150 to 400 μm, dehydration of upper layers cannot completely compensate for an increase in light scattering by dermis after epidermis ablation. The additional effect of OCA enhances the optical clearing of skin at the expense of improving the refractive index matching between dermis components, but the maximal efficiency of optical clearing in 120 min does not exceed 6%.