Optical Redox Imaging of Metabolic Activity

Fluorescence imaging can be used to determine tissue metabolism, which is an indication of the cellular functionality. Metabolic contrast is useful for the early detection of several medical conditions such as cancer, diabetes, lung diseases etc. This study aims to use fluorescence imaging to quantify NADH and FAD, which are cellular metabolic indicators. A parameter known as Redox ratio, can be used to study metabolic state of several tissue types and disease states. To quantify the Redox ratio, three fluorescence imaging systems were optimized to measure the fluorescence signal from NADH and FAD. The first system was a camera based model suitable for laboratory and clinical settings. The second and third were compact versions of the same instrument. The systems were characterized and brain cancer cells were measured using the camera-based system and the compact model, which resulted in a similar Redox ratio.