Time Resolved Ocular Fluorometer

本计画的目标是发展一种通用的萤光量测仪器 在眼睛上和眼睛内的寿命。该仪器将利用荧光寿命 专为显微镜和分析化学设计的探针，用于测量细胞体积，氧气， 电解质浓度、pH值和动物和最终人类的活眼中和活眼上的其他重要变量。这将在眼科研究中有明显的应用，最终可能在疾病诊断和监测中有应用。该仪器也可用于内源性荧光的测量。因此，角膜和透镜的自体荧光在糖尿病中升高，而荧光视网膜脂褐素与年龄相关性黄斑变性的发病机制有关。在第一阶段，我们证明了这种技术在眼睛中的可行性。我们已经开发出一种特别灵敏的方法，用于测量荧光寿命，这是唯一适合于眼睛的应用。眼睛面临的挑战是有限的入射孔径、潜在的运动以及在强度和持续时间方面对曝光的有限耐受性。我们的总体目标将是生产一个标准化的仪器，并制定协议，使荧光寿命测量使用内源性或外源性荧光分子在眼睛或眼睛。一个关键的目标将是标准化和校准控制，以便在不同的机器上得到的结果是可比的。此外，我们将设计具有足够灵活性的仪器，以便我们可以在开发新的荧光寿命探针时增加功能，我们的客户可以开发自己的技术。

The goal of this project is to develop a general-purpose instrument for measuring fluorescence lifetimes on and inside the eye. This instrument will take advantage of fluorescence lifetime probes designed for microscopy and analytical chemistry to measure cell volume, oxygen, concentration of electrolytes, pH, and other variables of importance in and on live eyes in animals and eventually humans. This will have obvious applications in eye research and may eventually have applications in disease diagnosis and monitoring. This instrument will also be useful in the measurement of endogenous fluorescence. Thus, autofluorescence of cornea and lens are elevated in diabetes while fluorescent retinal lipofuscins are implicated in the pathogenesis of Age Relate Macular Degeneration. During Phase I, we demonstrated feasibility of this technique in the eye. We have developed a particularly sensitive method for measurement fluorescence lifetimes that is uniquely suited for ocular applications. The eye poses challenges of limited entrance aperture, potential movement, and limited tolerance to light exposure both in terms of intensity and duration. Our overall goal will be to produce a standardized instrument and to develop protocols for making fluorescent lifetime measurements using endogenous or exogenous fluorescent molecules in or on the eye. A critical goal will be standardization and calibration control, so that results made on different machines are comparable. In addition, we will design this instrument with enough flexibility so that we can add capabilities as new fluorescence lifetime probes are developed, and our customers can develop techniques of their own.