Title: Implantable fluorescence sensor for continuous molecular
monitoring in live animals
Thomas D. O'Sullivan
Department of Electrical Engineering
Research Advisor: Prof. James S. Harris
Date: Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
Time: 10:00 am (Refreshments 9:45am)
Location: Clark Center Auditorium (below the patio)
http://campus-map.stanford.edu/index.cfm?ID=07-340
Abstract:
Molecular imaging is an established technique used to visualize and
quantify functional information about biological processes in living
systems. Specifically, the ability to image fluorescence is a powerful
tool considering the wealth of fluorescent probes/proteins that are used
in drug discovery and therapeutic evaluation, in studying development
and treatment of cancer, in tracking stem cell growth and proliferation
in small animals. Fluorescence sensing is also an emerging technique for
use in humans.
Current approaches to detect fluorescence in vivo rely on devices which
use bulky instrumentation, generally requiring anesthetized animal
models, and restrict sensing to discrete snapshots in time. Thus, there
is need for continuous, long-term monitoring of fluorescent probes. In
this talk, I present our design and fabrication of a miniaturized
fluorescence sensor for direct implantation which enable continuous and
long-term sensing in freely-moving subjects.
The monolithically-integrated, laser-based sensor incorporates the basic
optical components of a fluorescence system for sensing Cy5.5
fluorescent dye. I will discuss the materials and microfabrication
challenges overcome to achieve the compact integration, as well as the
device sensitivity to in vitro and in vivo concentrations of Cy5.5. I
will present our efforts and the benefits of using the sensor to monitor
the binding kinetics of a molecular probe in cancer tumors and will
demonstrate continuous sensing with the sensor implanted in live mice.
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