Advanced Raman Microscopy & Chemical Imaging Lab

 

Disease, Damage and Early Development

How does bone mineralize?

Early Mineralization: We are looking at the effects of non-collageneous proteins on the mineralization of bone matrix. We use a unique combination of Raman and fluorescence imaging to study tissue development.

Fig: Raman images of bone development in mouse calvaria correlate with protein localization

How does bone change with disease or damage?

Osteoporosis occurs when there is an imbalance in the normal resorption and formation of bone in the bone repair mechanism. Loss of bone mass with accompanying changes in tissue architecture leads to increased fracture risk. We are developing non-invasive Raman spectroscopic diagnostics for osteoporosis.

Osteoarthritis is a common age-related disease in which the cartilage in joints is mechanically degraded. We are developing minimally invasive Raman spectroscopic diagnostics for this disease.

 

Fig: Mineral to matrix ratio images of mouse skull sutures by Raman spectroscopy