Affiliation:
1. Center for Systems Biology Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard Medical School Boston MA 02114 USA
2. Safety Measurement Institute Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science Daejeon 34113 Republic of Korea
3. Department of Medical Physics University of Science and Technology Daejeon 34113 Republic of Korea
4. Department of Applied Measurement Science University of Science and Technology Daejeon 34113 Republic of Korea
5. Department of Materials Science and Engineering Hanbat National University Daejeon 34158 Republic of Korea
Abstract
AbstractViSiON (visualization materials composed of silicon‐based optical nanodisks) is presented, which offers a unique optical combination of near‐infrared (NIR) optical properties and biodegradability. Initially, numerical simulations are conducted to calculate the total extinction and scattering effects of ViSiON by the diameter‐to‐thickness ratio, predicting precise control over its scattering properties in the NIR region. A top‐down patterning technique is employed to synthesize ViSiON with accurate diameter and thickness control. ViSiON with a 50 nm thickness exhibits scattering properties over 400 times higher than that of 30 nm, rendering it suitable as a contrast agent for optical coherence tomography (OCT), especially in ophthalmic applications. Furthermore, ViSiON possesses inherent biodegradability in media, with ≈95% degradation occurring after 48 h, and the degradation rate can be finely tuned based on the quantity of protein coating applied to the surface. Subsequently, the OCT imaging capability is validated even within vessels smaller than 300 µm, simulating retinal vasculature using a retinal phantom. Then, using an ex ovo chick embryo model, it is demonstrated that ViSiON enhances the strength of protein membranes by 6.17 times, thereby presenting the potential for ViSiON as an OCT imaging probe capable of diagnosing retinal diseases.
Funder
Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science
National Research Foundation of Korea
Subject
Pharmaceutical Science,Biomedical Engineering,Biomaterials