Label-free Multiphoton Imaging

Overview

Imaging of tissue structure at the cellular level is often crucial to the understanding of organ function and pathological changes in functionality. We are therefore, interested in developing label-free tissue imaging as a technology for three-dimensional visualization of native live tissue without dyes as a contrast agent. Multiphoton microscopy of cellular autofluorescence and extracellular matrix is particularly suited for this approach, because the nonlinear excitation is highly localized and allows for precise optical sectioning and 3D visualization of the tissue. Contrast is generated from naturally fluorescent molecules like NAHD or FAD, and by Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) from collagen-I or myosin-II filaments. In collaborations with clinical partners, we unravel 3D tissue details of health, disease and ageing in human and animal models involving tissue remodeling, for instance, in muscle, bowel tissue, tumors, kidneys, lungs, skin, vocal cords as well as using bioartificial tissue from biofabricated constructs containing cellular and matrix elements. One of our strengths lies in pattern recognition analysis to define degrees of tissue remodeling in disease which may be helpful in future diagnostics classifications of disease severity, efficacy of treatments and quality control in bioartificial tissue engineered constructs. Our vision is to create a two-photon atlas of organ structure in health and disease. Please refer also to the following pages for specific examples and details.

Figure 1: Label-free two-photon images of tissue samples. Can you guess which tissue is which….?