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In Vivo Multiphoton Microscopy for Investigating Biomechanical Properties of Human Skin

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Abstract

The biomechanical properties of living cells depend on their molecular building blocks, and are important for maintaining structure and function in cells, the extracellular matrix, and tissues. These biomechanical properties and forces also shape and modify the cellular and extracellular structures under stress. While many studies have investigated the biomechanics of single cells or small populations of cells in culture, or the properties of organs and tissues, few studies have investigated the biomechanics of complex cell populations in vivo. With the use of advanced multiphoton microscopy to visualize in vivo cell populations in human skin, the biomechanical properties are investigated in a depth-dependent manner in the stratum corneum and epidermis using quasi-static mechanical deformations. A 2D elastic registration algorithm was used to analyze the images before and after deformation to determine displacements in different skin layers. In this feasibility study, the images and results from one human subject demonstrate the potential of the technique for revealing differences in elastic properties between the stratum corneum and the rest of the epidermis. This interrogational imaging methodology has the potential to enable a wide range of investigations for understanding how the biomechanical properties of in vivo cell populations influence function in health and disease.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Haohua Tu and Eric Chaney for their laboratory assistance and thank Dr. Steven G. Adie for insightful discussions. This work was supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01 EB005221 and RC1 CA147096) and the National Science Foundation (CBET 08-52658). Additional information can be found at http://biophotonics.illinois.edu.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Biophotonics Imaging Laboratory, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 405 North Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Xing Liang & Benedikt W. Graf

  2. Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Bioengineering, and Medicine, Biophotonics Imaging Laboratory, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 405 North Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Stephen A. Boppart

Authors
  1. Xing Liang
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  2. Benedikt W. Graf
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  3. Stephen A. Boppart
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Correspondence to Stephen A. Boppart.

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Associate Editor Yingxiao Wang Peter J. Butler oversaw the review of this article.

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Liang, X., Graf, B.W. & Boppart, S.A. In Vivo Multiphoton Microscopy for Investigating Biomechanical Properties of Human Skin. Cel. Mol. Bioeng. 4, 231–238 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12195-010-0147-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12195-010-0147-6

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