We propose to develop a novel nanorheology platform to simultaneously map mucus viscoelasticity and mucus flow in situ. Increase in airway mucus complex viscoelastic shear modulus (G*) hinders mucus clearance and is associated with respiratory diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cystic fibrosis (CF). In the short term, this new platform will provide a more complete biophysical picture of mucociliary clearance and enable better models, leading to new treatment paradigms. In the long term, this platform may be translatable to in vivo mucus monitoring for assessment of disease progression and therapeutic interventions. Our nanorheology platform is based upon dynamic light scattering (DLS) from plasmonic gold nanorods (GNRs) monitored using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Specifically, the cross-polarized light scattering signal from GNRs provides information about their rotational diffusion rate, which is related through a generalized Stokes-Einstein relationship to the G* of the mucus. GNRs are advantageous as rheological probes because their high anisotropy and plasmon-resonance provides a unique optical signal against endogenous mucus light scatterers, and their small size provides a fast rotational DLS signal which allows for more rapid collection of rheological data. Importantly, OCT provides depth-resolved DLS measurements of GNR diffusion, which will enable spatial mapping of heterogeneities in mucus G*, particularly as a function of distance from the periciliary layer. By linking these measurements with OCT- based tracking of mucus flow, it will provide a more complete biophysical picture of mucociliary clearance.
Our first aim i s to validate the DLS-OCT nanorheology technique in controlled complex fluids against standard bead microrheology and bulk rheology. Subsequently, we will validate this technique using non- muco-adherent GNRs in mucus harvested from human bronchi-epithelial (hBE) cultures, and evaluate the response as a function of % solids.
Our second aim i s to employ DLS-OCT to monitor flowing mucus in normal and CF-like hBE model systems, using GNRs delivered by nebulization. We will associate measurements of G* with flow rate measured by speckle-tracking in OCT as a function of distance from the periciliary layer. In addition, we will determin the ability for OCT to monitor ciliary function during simulated hypertonic saline therapy and induced collapse and revival of ciliary activity in these models. By the completion of this study we will have validated DLS-OCT nanorheology against micro- and bulk rheology techniques, and established the sensitivity for mapping G* and quantifying % solids in a flowing mucus system, which will poise the technology for future in vivo studies in murine models of cystic fibrosis.

Public Health Relevance

We propose to develop a new technology to measure the mechanical properties of airway mucus with high resolution in order to better understand mucus thickening in respiratory diseases. This has relevance for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cystic fibrosis, and may lead to better methods to diagnose and assess disease progression, as well as for monitoring therapy and developing better methods for drug delivery.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
1R21HL111968-01A1
Application #
8385601
Study Section
Enabling Bioanalytical and Imaging Technologies Study Section (EBIT)
Program Officer
Banks-Schlegel, Susan P
Project Start
2012-08-01
Project End
2014-06-30
Budget Start
2012-08-01
Budget End
2013-06-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$223,507
Indirect Cost
$55,878
Name
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Department
Physics
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
608195277
City
Chapel Hill
State
NC
Country
United States
Zip Code
27599
Marks, Daniel L; Blackmon, Richard L; Oldenburg, Amy L (2018) Diffusion tensor optical coherence tomography. Phys Med Biol 63:025007
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Balakrishnan, Santosh; Bu, Ruofei; Price, Hillel et al. (2017) Multi-modal anatomical Optical Coherence Tomography and CT for in vivo Dynamic Upper Airway Imaging. Proc SPIE Int Soc Opt Eng 10039:
Blackmon, R L; Kreda, S M; Sears, P R et al. (2017) Direct monitoring of pulmonary disease treatment biomarkers using plasmonic gold nanorods with diffusion-sensitive OCT. Nanoscale 9:4907-4917
Oldenburg, Amy L; Blackmon, Richard L; Sierchio, Justin M (2016) Magnetic and Plasmonic Contrast Agents in Optical Coherence Tomography. IEEE J Sel Top Quantum Electron 22:
Bu, Ruofei; Price, Hillel; Mitran, Sorin et al. (2016) Swept-Source Anatomic Optical Coherence Elastography of Porcine Trachea. Proc SPIE Int Soc Opt Eng 9689:
Blackmon, Richard L; Kreda, Silvia M; Sears, Patrick R et al. (2016) Diffusion-sensitive optical coherence tomography for real-time monitoring of mucus thinning treatments. Proc SPIE Int Soc Opt Eng 9697:
Barrick, Jessica; Doblas, Ana; Gardner, Michael R et al. (2016) High-speed and high-sensitivity parallel spectral-domain optical coherence tomography using a supercontinuum light source. Opt Lett 41:5620-5623
Blackmon, Richard L; Sandhu, Rupninder; Chapman, Brian S et al. (2016) Imaging Extracellular Matrix Remodeling In Vitro by Diffusion-Sensitive Optical Coherence Tomography. Biophys J 110:1858-1868
Wu, Wei-Chen; Tracy, Joseph B (2015) Large-Scale Silica Overcoating of Gold Nanorods with Tunable Shell Thicknesses. Chem Mater 27:2888-2894

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