Methods and systems for assessing biological material using optical detection techniques

Abstract

Optical detection techniques for the assessment of the physiological state, health and / or viability of biological materials are provided. Biological materials which may be examined using such techniques include cells, tissues, organs and subcellular components. The inventive techniques may be employed in high throughput screening of potential diagnostic and / or therapeutic agents.

Description

REFERENCE TO PRIORITY APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 326,244, filed Jun. 4, 1999, issuing as U.S. Pat. No. 6,834,238 on Dec. 21, 2004, which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 088,494, filed Jun. 8, 1998, entitled METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR ASSESSING BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS USING OPTICAL DETECTION TECHNIQUES, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The methods and systems of the present invention employ optical, or spectroscopic, detection techniques for assessing the health, physiological condition, and viability of biological materials such as tissues, cells, and subcellular components, and may be used in both in vitro and in vivo systems. One important application of the methods and apparatus of the present invention is high throughput screening of candidate agents and conditions to evaluate their suitability as diagnostic or therapeutic agents...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0019] Observation and interpretation of geometrical and / or intrinsic optical properties of individual cells or cell populations is achieved in both in vitro and in vivo systems without altering characteristics of the sample by applying physiologically invasive materials, such as fixatives. Physiologically non-invasive contrast enhancing agents, such as vital dyes, may be used in desired applications to enhance the sensitivity of optical detection techniques. In applications employing contrast enhancing agents, the optical detection techniques are used to assess extrinsic optical properties of the biological materials.

Problems solved by technology

Screening methods currently used are generally difficult to scale up to provide the high throughput screening necessary to test the numerous candidate compounds generated by traditional and computational means.

Moreover, studies involving cell culture systems and animal model responses frequently don't accurately predict the responses and side effects observed during human clinical trials.

Conventional methods for assessing the effects of various agents or physiological activities on biological materials, in both in vitro and in vivo systems, generally are not highly sensitive or informative.

Cytotoxicity assays generally do not provide any information relating to the cause(s) or time course of cell death.

This type of assay provides useful information, but it does not provide information relating to the mechanism of action, the effect on other metabolites or metabolic functions, the time course of the physiological effect, general cell or tissue health, or the like.

The technique employed by Ts'o et al. would not be practical for human clinical use, since imaging of intrinsic signals was achieved by implanting a stainless steel optical chamber in the skull of a monkey and contacting the cortical tissue with an optical oil.

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