title: Structural and functional optical imaging of three-dimensional engineered tissue development.
abstract: A significant amount of the data collected by cell biologists and tissue engineers relies on invasive imaging techniques to visualize dynamic structural and functional properties in engineered tissues. We report the use of optical coherence tomography and the comparative use of confocal microscopy to nondestructively and noninvasively monitor the structural and functional characteristics of three-dimensional engineered tissues over time. The engineered tissue model is composed of chitosan scaffolds and fibroblasts transfected with vinculin fused to green fluorescent protein. We image the developmental process of engineered tissues from changes of tissue microarchitecture to cell-matrix adhesions in three dimensions. These findings demonstrate the potential for optical coherence tomography in applications in cell and tissue biology, tissue engineering, and drug discovery.
authors.affiliation: Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Aylin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sendemir-Urkmez
authors.forename: Lester J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Fahrner
authors.forename: Russell
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jamison
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Leckband
authors.forename: Stephen A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Boppart
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal / Q000379:methods*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000379:methods*