Combined ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging to noninvasively assess burn injury and selectively monitor a regenerative tissue-engineered construct.
Current biomedical imaging tools have limitations in accurate assessment of the severity of open and deep burn wounds involving excess bleeding and severe tissue damage. Furthermore, sophisticated imaging techniques are needed for advanced therapeutic approaches such as noninvasive monitoring of stem cells seeded and applied in a biomedical 3D scaffold to enhance wound repair. This work introduces a novel application of combined ultrasound (US) and photoacoustic (PA) imaging to assess both burn injury and skin tissue regeneration. Tissue structural damage and bleeding throughout the epidermis and dermis till the subcutaneous skin layer were imaged noninvasively by US/PA imaging. Gold nanoparticle-labeled adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) within a PEGylated fibrin 3D gel were implanted in a rat model of cutaneous burn injury. ASCs were successfully tracked till 2 weeks and were distinguished from host tissue components (e.g., epidermis, fat, and blood vessels) through spectroscopic PA imaging. The structure and function of blood vessels (vessel density and perfusion) in the wound bed undergoing skin tissue regeneration were monitored both qualitatively and semi-quantitatively by the developed imaging approach. Imaging-based analysis demonstrated ASC localization in the top layer of skin and a higher density of regenerating blood vessels in the treated groups. This was corroborated with histological analysis showing localization of fluorescently labeled ASCs and smooth muscle alpha actin-positive blood vessels. Overall, the US/PA imaging-based strategy coupled with gold nanoparticles has a great potential for stem cell therapies and tissue engineering due to its noninvasiveness, safety, selectivity, and ability to provide long-term monitoring.
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas.
Seung Yun
SY
Nam
2Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas.
Eunna
E
Chung
2Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas.
Laura J
LJ
Suggs
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas.|2Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas.
Stanislav Y
SY
Emelianov
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D002056:Burns / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D006046:Gold; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles; D061088:Photoacoustic Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000379:methods*; D014945:Wound Healing
D006046:Gold