최명환 교수

A biocompatible step-index optical fiber made of poly(ethylene glycol) and alginate hydrogels is demonstrated. The fabricated fiber exhibits excellent light-guiding efficiency in biological tissues. Moreover, the core of hydrogel fibers can be easily doped with functional molecules and nanoparticles for localized light emission, sensing, and therapy.

Systemic delivery of bioactive molecules in the CNS is hampered by the blood-brain barrier, which has bottlenecked noninvasive physiological study of the brain and the development of CNS drugs. Here we report that irradiation with an ultrashort pulsed laser to the blood vessel wall induces transient leakage of blood plasma without compromising vascular integrity. By combining this method with a systemic injection, we delivered target molecules in various tissues, including the brain cortex. This

Microscopic imaging techniques to visualize cellular behaviors in their natural environment play a pivotal role in biomedical research. Here, we review how recent technical advances in intravital microscopy have enabled unprecedented access to cellular physiology in various organs of mice in normal and diseased states.

Angiogenesis is essential for tumor growth and a promising target for cancer therapy. Blood vessel monitoring is an indispensable tool for evaluation and development of anti-angiogenic drugs. Here, we report a new noninvasive in vivo imaging tool, named dynamic fluorescence imaging (DyFI), for the simultaneous measurement of multiple vascular parameters including vascular density, perfusion rate, and permeability using spatiotemporal profiles of indocyanine green. Using DyFI in a tumor xenograft

In the mammalian nervous system, myelin provides electrical insulation for the neural circuit by forming a highly organized, multilayered thin film around the axon fibers. Here, we investigate the spectral reflectance from this subcellular nanostructure and devise a new label-free technique based on a spectroscopic analysis of reflected light, enabling nanoscale imaging of myelinated axons in their natural living state. Using this technique, we demonstrate three-dimensional mapping of the axon d

As the most abundant cell type in the central nervous system, astrocyte has been one of main research topics in neuroscience. Although various tools have been developed, at present, there is no tool that allows noninvasive activation of astrocyte in vivo without genetic or pharmacological perturbation. Here we report a noninvasive label-free optical method for physiological astrocyte activation in vivo using a femtosecond pulsed laser. We showed the laser stimulation robustly induced astrocytic

The diameters of blood vessels, especially in the brain, change dynamically over time to provide sufficient blood supply as needed. No existing technique allows noninvasive control of vascular diameter in vivo. We report that label-free irradiation with a femtosecond pulsed laser can trigger blood vessel contraction in vivo. In response to laser irradiation, cultured vascular smooth muscle cells showed a rapid increase in calcium concentration, followed by cell contraction. In a murine thinned s

Intravital microscopy is a powerful tool in neuroscience but has not been adapted to the taste sensory organ due to anatomical constraint. Here we developed an imaging window to facilitate microscopic access to the murine tongue in vivo. Real-time two-photon microscopy allowed the visualization of three-dimensional microanatomy of the intact tongue mucosa and functional activity of taste cells in response to topically administered tastants in live mice. Video microscopy also showed the calcium a

ABSTRACT The initial event in taste sensation is mediated by taste cells on the tongue that translate ingested chemicals into cellular signals. Current understanding on this cellular level taste encoding process has relied on ex vivo model systems that cannot fully recapitulate natural cellular microenvironment in vivo . To resolve this methodological limitation, we invented a microfluidics-on-a-tongue imaging chamber that has integrated multichannel microfluidics for auto-controlled tastant del

Regeneration of the intestinal epithelium after injury or during pathogenesis is a dynamic cellular process critical for host immunity. However, current epithelial injury models provide poor spatial control, complicating the study of precise cellular responses. Here we developed endoscopic femtosecond-laser surgery capable of generating acute tissue injury. A side-view probe provides a convenient access to the distal colon in the mouse in vivo and allows real-time intraoperative monitoring as we

Our all-optical studies substantiate that myelinated axon exhibits activity-dependent nanoscale swelling, which potentially serves to dynamically tune the transmission speed of neural information.

<b>Significance:</b> Ultrasound has recently received considerable attention in neuroscience because it provides noninvasive control of deep brain activity. Although the feasibility of ultrasound stimulation has been reported in preclinical and clinical settings, its mechanistic understanding remains limited. While optical microscopy has become the "gold standard" tool for investigating population-level neural functions <i>in vivo</i>, its application for ultrasound neuromodulation has been tech

Fluorescent optical probes have rapidly transformed our understanding of complex biological systems by providing specific information on biological targets in the natural living state. However, their utility is often limited by insufficient brightness, photostability, and multiplexing capacity. Here, we report a conceptually new optical probe, termed 'reflectophore', which is based on the spectral interference from a dielectric microsphere. Reflectophores are orders-of-magnitudes brighter than c