Non-contact and label-free biomechanical imaging: Stimulated Brillouin microscopy and beyond

Brillouin microscopy based on spontaneous Brillouin scattering has emerged as a unique elastography technique because of its merit of non-contact, label-free, and high-resolution mechanical imaging of biological cell and tissue. Recently, several new optical modalities based on stimulated Brillouin scattering have been developed for biomechanical research. As the scattering efficiency of the stimulated process is much higher than its counterpart in the spontaneous process, stimulated Brillouin-based methods have the potential to significantly improve the speed and spectral resolution of existing Brillouin microscopy. Here, we review the ongoing technological advancements of three methods, including continuous wave stimulated Brillouin microscopy, impulsive stimulated Brillouin microscopy, and laser-induced picosecond ultrasonics. We describe the physical principle, the representative instrumentation, and biological application of each method. We further discuss the current limitations as well as the challenges for translating these methods into a visible biomedical instrument for biophysics and mechanobiology

Diagnosis of glioma molecular markers by terahertz technologies

This review considers glioma molecular markers in brain tissues and body fluids, shows the pathways of their formation, and describes traditional methods of analysis. The most important optical properties of glioma markers in the terahertz (THz) frequency range are also presented. New metamaterial-based technologies for molecular marker detection at THz frequencies are discussed. A variety of machine learning methods, which allow the marker detection sensitivity and differentiation of healthy and tumor tissues to be improved with the aid of THz tools, are considered. The actual results on the application of THz techniques in the intraoperative diagnosis of brain gliomas are shown. THz technologies’ potential in molecular marker detection and defining the boundaries of the glioma’s tissue is discussed

Terahertz Imaging and Spectroscopy in Cancer Diagnostics: A Technical Review

Terahertz (THz) waves are electromagnetic waves with frequency in the range from 0.1 to 10 THz. THz waves have great potential in the biomedical field, especially in cancer diagnosis, because they exhibit low ionization energy and can be used to discern most biomolecules based on their spectral fingerprints. In this paper, we review the recent progress in two applications of THz waves in cancer diagnosis: imaging and spectroscopy. THz imaging is expected to help researchers and doctors attain a direct intuitive understanding of a cancerous area. THz spectroscopy is an efficient tool for component analysis of tissue samples to identify cancer biomarkers. Additionally, the advantages and disadvantages of the developed technologies for cancer diagnosis are discussed. Furthermore, auxiliary techniques that have been used to enhance the spectral signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) are also reviewed

An Approach of Spectra Standardization and Qualitative Identification for Biomedical Materials Based on Terahertz Spectroscopy

Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) systems are widely used to obtain fingerprint spectra of many different biomedical substances, and thus the identification of different biological materials, medicines, or dangerous chemicals can be realized. However, the spectral data for the same substance obtained from different THz-TDS systems may have distinct differences because of differences in system errors and data processing methods, which leads to misclassification and errors in identification. To realize the exact and fast identification of substances, spectral standardization is the key issue. In this paper, we present detailed disposal methods and execution processes for the spectral standardization and substance identification, including feature extracting, database searching, and fingerprint spectrum matching of unknown substances. Here, we take twelve biomedical compounds including different biological materials, medicines, or dangerous chemicals as examples. These compounds were analyzed by two different THz-TDS systems, one of which is a commercial product and the other is our verification platform. The original spectra from two systems showed obvious differences in their curve shapes and amplitudes. After wavelet transform, cubic spline interpolation, and support vector machine (SVM) classification with an appropriate kernel function, the spectra from two systems can be standardized, and the recognition rate of qualitative identification can be up to 99.17%

Effect of formulation variables on in vitro release of a water-soluble drug from chitosan–sodium alginate matrix tablets

The objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of using chitosan–sodium alginate (CS–SA) based matrix tablets for extended-release of highly water-soluble drugs by changing formulation variables. Using trimetazidine hydrochloride (TH) as a water-soluble model drug, influence of dissolution medium, the amount of CS–SA, the CS:SA ratio, the type of SA, the type and amount of diluents, on in vitro drug release from CS–SA based matrix tablets were studied. Drug release kinetics and release mechanisms were elucidated. In vitro release experiments were conducted in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) followed by simulated intestinal fluid (SIF). Drug release rate decreased with the increase of CS–SA amount. CS:SA ratio had only slight effect on drug release and no influence of SA type on drug release was found. On the other hand, a large amount of water-soluble diluents could modify drug release profiles. It was found that drug release kinetics showed the best fit to Higuchi equation with Fickian diffusion as the main release mechanism. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that it is possible to design extended-release tablets of water-soluble drugs using CS–SA as the matrix by optimizing formulation components, and provide better understanding about drug release from CS–SA matrix tablets

Twist Phase Matching in Two-Dimensional Materials

Funding Information: We acknowledge Professor Yuen-Ron Shen (University of California, Berkeley) for his valuable suggestions and comments on the twist-phase-matching model and rBN crystals. This work is supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2022YFA1403500 and 2021YFA1400201), National Natural Science Foundation of China (52025023, 51991342, 12374167, 12104018, 12374167 and 12034003), Guangdong Major Project of Basic and Applied Basic Research (2021B0301030002), the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB33000000) and the New Cornerstone Science Foundation through the XPLORER PRIZE. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 American Physical Society.Optical phase matching involves establishing a proper phase relationship between the fundamental excitation and generated waves to enable efficient optical parametric processes. It is typically achieved through birefringence or periodic polarization. Here, we report that the interlayer twist angle in two-dimensional (2D) materials creates a nonlinear geometric phase that can compensate for the phase mismatch, and the vertical assembly of the 2D layers with a proper twist sequence generates a nontrivial "twist-phase-matching"(twist-PM) regime. The twist-PM model provides superior flexibility in the design of optical crystals, which can be applied for twisted layers with either periodic or random thickness distributions. The designed crystal from the twisted rhombohedral boron nitride films within a thickness of only 3.2 μm is capable of producing a second-harmonic generation with conversion efficiency of ∼8% and facile polarization controllability that is absent in conventional crystals. Our methodology establishes a platform for the rational design and atomic manufacturing of nonlinear optical crystals based on abundant 2D materials.Peer reviewe

Terahertz Spectroscopy for Accurate Identification of Panax quinquefolium Basing on Nonconjugated 24(R)-Pseudoginsenoside F11

Panax quinquefolium is a perennial herbaceous plant that contains many beneficial ginsenosides with diverse pharmacological effects. 24(R)-pseudoginsenoside F11 is specific to P. quinquefolium, a useful biomarker for distinguishing this species from other related plants. However, because of its nonconjugated property and the complexity of existing detection methods, this biomarker cannot be used as the identification standard. We herein present a stable 24(R)-pseudoginsenoside F11 fingerprint spectrum in the terahertz band, thereby proving that F11 can be detected and quantitatively analyzed via terahertz spectroscopy. We also analyzed the sample by high-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. The difference between the normalized data for the two analytical methods was less than 5%. Furthermore, P. quinquefolium from different areas and other substances can be clearly distinguished based on these terahertz spectra with a standard principal component analysis. Our method is a fast, simple, and cost-effective approach for identifying and quantitatively analyzing P. quinquefolium

Cytosolic Release of Mitochondrial DNA and Associated cGAS Signaling Mediates Radiation-Induced Hematopoietic Injury of Mice

Mitochondrion is an important organelle of eukaryotic cells and a critical target of ionizing radiation (IR) outside the nucleus. The biological significance and mechanism of the non-target effect originating from mitochondria have received much attention in the field of radiation biology and protection. In this study, we investigated the effect, role, and radioprotective significance of cytosolic mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and its associated cGAS signaling on hematopoietic injury induced by IR in vitro culture cells and in vivo total body irradiated mice in this study. The results demonstrated that γ-ray exposure increases the release of mtDNA into the cytosol to activate cGAS signaling pathway, and the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) may contribute to IR-induced mtDNA release. VDAC1 inhibitor DIDS and cGAS synthetase inhibitor can alleviate bone marrow injury and ameliorate hematopoietic suppression induced by IR via protecting hematopoietic stem cells and adjusting subtype distribution of bone marrow cells, such as attenuating the increase of the F4/80+ macrophage proportion in bone marrow cells. The present study provides a new mechanistic explanation for the radiation non-target effect and an alternative technical strategy for the prevention and treatment of hematopoietic acute radiation syndrome