Nanocrystal Coded Microspheres for Blood Flow Measurements

描述(申请人提供)：将荧光微球方法与成像冷冻显微切割术相结合，可以有效地测量实验动物器官中的局部血流分布。由于每次测量使用不同颜色的荧光微球填充了可用的光谱范围，目前在单个动物中可以进行的流量测量的数量有限。这里提出的研究将开发纳米晶体编码的微球，它将只在两个狭窄的波长范围内发射荧光，但其相对强度可以用于基于简单的比率强度编码的微球的分类。在第一阶段，将使用一套设计的七个纳米晶体编码的微球来证明可行性，这些微球将用于研究幻影、灌流的大鼠心脏和活体动物的器官间血流分布。使用荧光聚苯乙烯微球和纳米晶体编码微球对灌流心脏局部血流的测量将相互关联，以建立编码微球方法的有效性。使用编码微球测量局部血流将释放光谱空间，用于使用标记的抗体、凝集素、荧光蛋白和结构染色进行同步测量。这项研究的成功实施将带来测量区域血流的新产品和服务。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Regional blood flow distributions in organs of experimental animals can be measured effectively by combining fluorescent microsphere methods with imaging cryomicrotomy. The number of flow measurements that can be made in a single animal is currently limited because using different colors of fluorescent microspheres for each measurement fills the available spectral range. The research proposed here will develop nanocrystal-coded microspheres that will emit fluorescence at only two narrow wavelength ranges, but whose relative intensities can be used to classify microspheres based on simple ratiometric intensity coding. Feasibility will be demonstrated during Phase I using a designed set of seven nanocrystal- coded microspheres that will be used in studies of phantoms, perfused rat hearts, and interorgan blood flow distribution in live animals. Measurements of regional flow using fluorescent-polystyrene microspheres and nanocrystals-coded microspheres in perfused hearts will be correlated to establish validity of the coded microsphere method. Use of coded microspheres to measure regional blood flow will free spectral space for concurrent measurements using labeled antibodies, lectins, fluorescent proteins, and structural stains. Successful implementation of this research will result in new products and services for measuring regional blood flow.