title: Blast-induced color change in photonic crystals corresponds with brain pathology.
abstract: A high incidence of blast exposure is a 21st century reality in counter-insurgency warfare. However, thresholds for closed-head blast-induced traumatic brain injury (bTBI) remain unknown. Moreover, without objective information about relative blast exposure, warfighters with bTBI may not receive appropriate medical care and may remain in harm's way. Accordingly, we have engineered a blast injury dosimeter (BID) using a photonic crystalline material that changes color following blast exposure. The photonic crystals are fabricated using SU-8 via multi-beam interference laser lithography. The final BID is similar in appearance to an array of small colored stickers that may be affixed to uniforms or helmets in multiple locations. Although durable under normal conditions, the photonic crystalline micro- and nano-structure are precisely altered by blast to create a color change. These BIDs were evaluated using a rat model of bTBI, for which blast shockwave exposure was generated via a compressed air-driven shock tube. With prototype BID arrays affixed to the animals, we found that BID color changes corresponded with subtle brain pathologies, including neuronal degeneration and reactive astrocytosis. These subtle changes were most notable in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, cerebral cortex, and cerebellum. These data demonstrate the feasibility of using a materials-based, power-free colorimetric BID as the first self-contained blast sensor calibrated to correspond with brain pathology.
authors.affiliation: Center for Brain Injury and Repair, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
authors.forename: D Kacy
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Cullen
authors.forename: Kevin D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Browne
authors.forename: Yongan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Saleena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Adeeb
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: Richard M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: McCarron
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Mikulas
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chavko
authors.forename: Douglas H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001753:Blast Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D003124:Colorimetry / Q000379:methods; D003460:Crystallization; D055620:Optical Phenomena; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
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