Although the major functions of the lymphatic system are fairly well defined, its vasculature has yet to be well characterized in comparison to its blood vasculature counterpart. Recent advances in optical imaging techniques have allowed for more detailed and quantitative evaluations of lymph flow dynamics and mechanism. A rat tail is often used for investigations of lymph flow because of the simple geometry, superficial nature, and disease progression models of its collecting lymphatic vessels. In this study, a pressure cuff system was fabricated and coupled with an existing functional near infrared (NIR) imaging system to measure the overall pumping pressure of the lymphatic vessels of a rat tail. In addition to adapting the system for use on rodents, previous systems used for measuring lymphatic pumping pressure in humans were improved upon in several ways. The system defined here utilizes closed-loop feedback control of pressure application at smaller, more precise intervals. Using this device, a significant difference in lymphatic vessel pumping pressure was detected between a control case and a treatment case in which a vasoactive substance with a nitric oxide donor (GTNO ointment) was applied to the tail. Although it is known that nitric oxide plays a crucial physiologic role in propagation of flow through lymphatic vessels, this study has quantified its significant pharmacological reduction of pumping pressure for the first time.

This research centers on the fabrication, characterization, and engineering of inverse opal scaffolds, a novel class of three-dimensional (3D) porous scaffolds made of biocompatible and biodegradable polymers, for applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. The unique features of an inverse opal scaffold include a highly ordered array of pores, uniform and finely tunable pore sizes, high interconnectivity, and great reproducibility. The first part of this work focuses on the fabrication and functionalization of inverse opal scaffolds based on poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), a biodegradable material approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The advantages of the PLGA inverse opal scaffolds are also demonstrated by comparing with their counterparts with spherical but non-uniform pores and poor interconnectivity. The second part of this work shows two examples where the PLGA inverse opal scaffolds were successfully used as a well-defined system to investigate the effect of pore size of a 3D porous scaffold on the behavior of cell and tissue growth. Specifically, I have demonstrated that i) the differentiation of progenitor cells in vitro was dependent on the pore size of PLGA-based scaffolds and the behavior of the cells was determined by the size of individual pores where the cells resided in, and ii) the neovascularization process in vivo could be directly manipulated by controlling a combination of pore and window sizes when they were applied to a mouse model. The last part of this work deals with the novel application of photoacoustic microscopy (PAM), a volumetric imaging modality recently developed, to tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, in the context of non-invasive imaging and quantification of cells and tissues grown in PLGA inverse opal scaffolds, both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, the capability of PAM to monitor and quantitatively analyze the degradation of the scaffolds themselves was also demonstrated.

This dissertation presents the contributions and the research conducted in developing and implementing Microwave Tomography (MWT) systems. MWT is an imaging modality which aims to interrogate an object of interest by microwave energy, and quantitatively “find” the interior spatial distribution of its dielectric properties using field measurements taken outside the object. Due to the inherent non-linearity of the MWT problem, a substantial amount of electromagnetic scattering data is required to ensure a robust inversion and quantitatively accurate imaging results. This research benefits a variety of applications including biomedical imaging, industrial non-destructive testing, and security applications. Developing a MWT system, requires many critical components including the bandwidth and polarization purity of the collected fields as well as calibration of the fields scattered by the object of interest. Two generations of MWT systems were designed, implemented, calibrated and tested at the University of Manitoba (UM). These systems aim different approaches for near-field measurements which are referred to as the direct and indirect methods. With regard to the antenna design, a novel methodology applicable to broadband planar antennas is introduced. This technique is based on a combination of field modelling, herein, the finite element method and transmission line modelling. In the first generation of the UM MWT systems, a suitable antenna system was utilized. The system under study was a prototype, where twenty-four co-resident antennas encircle the object of interest to directly measure the fields. In the second generation of the UM MWT systems, the feasibility of using a novel technique to indirectly measure the fields by a secondary array of near-field scatterer probes was studied. The technique is based on the Modulated Scatterer Technique (MST). In this system, antennas are called ``collectors", since the role of antennas are changed to collecting probes' scattered fields. A number of PIN diodes were utilized to activate the probes. Finally, the capability of the probe system was investigated and its performance with the previously constructed tomography systems was compared. Various dielectric phantoms were utilized to test the accuracy of the systems.

This dissertation presents the contributions and the research conducted in developing and implementing Microwave Tomography (MWT) systems. MWT is an imaging modality which aims to interrogate an object of interest by microwave energy, and quantitatively “find” the interior spatial distribution of its dielectric properties using field measurements taken outside the object. Due to the inherent non-linearity of the MWT problem, a substantial amount of electromagnetic scattering data is required to ensure a robust inversion and quantitatively accurate imaging results. This research benefits a variety of applications including biomedical imaging, industrial non-destructive testing, and security applications. Developing a MWT system, requires many critical components including the bandwidth and polarization purity of the collected fields as well as calibration of the fields scattered by the object of interest. Two generations of MWT systems were designed, implemented, calibrated and tested at the University of Manitoba (UM). These systems aim different approaches for near-field measurements which are referred to as the direct and indirect methods. With regard to the antenna design, a novel methodology applicable to broadband planar antennas is introduced. This technique is based on a combination of field modelling, herein, the finite element method and transmission line modelling. In the first generation of the UM MWT systems, a suitable antenna system was utilized. The system under study was a prototype, where twenty-four co-resident antennas encircle the object of interest to directly measure the fields. In the second generation of the UM MWT systems, the feasibility of using a novel technique to indirectly measure the fields by a secondary array of near-field scatterer probes was studied. The technique is based on the Modulated Scatterer Technique (MST). In this system, antennas are called ``collectors", since the role of antennas are changed to collecting probes' scattered fields. A number of PIN diodes were utilized to activate the probes. Finally, the capability of the probe system was investigated and its performance with the previously constructed tomography systems was compared. Various dielectric phantoms were utilized to test the accuracy of the systems.

The ongoing merger of the digital and optical components of the modern microscope is creating opportunities for new measurement techniques, along with new challenges for optical modelling. This thesis investigates several such opportunities and challenges which are particularly relevant to biomedical imaging. Fourier optics is used throughout the thesis as the underlying conceptual model, with a particular emphasis on three--dimensional Fourier optics. A new challenge for optical modelling provided by digital microscopy is the relaxation of traditional symmetry constraints on optical design. An extension of optical transfer function theory to deal with arbitrary lens pupil functions is presented in this thesis. This is used to chart the 3D vectorial structure of the spatial frequency spectrum of the intensity in the focal region of a high aperture lens when illuminated by linearly polarised beam. Wavefront coding has been used successfully in paraxial imaging systems to extend the depth of field. This is achieved by controlling the pupil phase with a cubic phase mask, and thereby balancing optical behaviour with digital processing. In this thesis I present a high aperture vectorial model for focusing with a cubic phase mask, and compare it with results calculated using the paraxial approximation. The effect of a refractive index change is also explored. High aperture measurements of the point spread function are reported, along with experimental confirmation of high aperture extended depth of field imaging of a biological specimen. Differential interference contrast is a popular method for imaging phase changes in otherwise transparent biological specimens. In this thesis I report on a new isotropic algorithm for retrieving the phase from differential interference contrast images of the phase gradient, using phase shifting, two directions of shear, and non--iterative Fourier phase integration incorporating a modified spiral phase transform. This method does not assume that the specimen has a constant amplitude. A simulation is presented which demonstrates good agreement between the retrieved phase and the phase of the simulated object, with excellent immunity to imaging noise.

L’objectif de ma thèse a été de développer de nouvelles sondes utilisables en imagerie biomédicale, basées sur l’utilisation d’aptamères, pour la détection de deux types de tumeurs : les glioblastomes et les mélanomes. Les traceurs développés ont pour objectif de cibler la protéine matricielle hMMP-9. Lors d’une thèse précédente, un aptamère anti hMMP-9 noté F3B a été obtenu. Afin de transformer cet aptamère en une sonde pour l’imagerie biomédicale, différents conjugués F3B ont été préparés: Cy5, DOTA ou MAG3. L’affinité des nouveaux conjugués pour l’hMMP-9 a été évaluée par SPR et sur coupes de tumeurs. Des études de biodistribution des conjugués F3B-DOTA et F3B-MAG3 ont été réalisées sur des souris portant le mélanome, les résultats ont montré que les deux aptamères marqués détectent spécifiquement l’hMMP-9. De plus, la détection de la protéine hMMP-9 par le conjugué F3B-CY5 a été confirmée par imagerie de fluorescence. Afin d’améliorer la sensibilité de détection des tumeurs, deux types de modifications ont été envisagées, développer des structures multimériques de F3B et élaborer d’un système bi-fonctionnel. Pour ces deux approches, nous avons synthétisé un dendrimère à point focal, pouvant donner accès à une imagerie multi-modale. Ce dendrimère porte deux ou trois bras espaceur porteurs d’un groupement azoture utilisé pour le couplage avec les aptamères par la chimie «click». Le dendrimère porte au point focal une fonction amine NH2 utilisée pour fixer une biotine, afin de déterminer l'affinité Kd de cette nouvelle sonde par SPR. Par la suite un ligand DOTA sera fixé afin de pouvoir visualiser ce traceur en TEMP. / The aim of my thesis was to develop new probes that can be used in biomedical imaging, based on the use of aptamers for the detection of two types of tumors: glioblastomas and melanomas. Tracers have been developed with the aim to target the matrix protein hMMP-9. In a thesis, an aptamer anti-hMMP-9 noted F3B was obtained. Based on this compound, different derivatives were prepared for using in biomedical imaging: F3B-Cy5, F3B-DOTA or F3B-MAG3. The affinity of the new conjugates for hMMP-9 was evaluated by SPR and on sections of human melanomas. Biodistribution studies of F3B-DOTA conjugates and F3B-MAG3 were performed at on melanoma bearing mice, the results showed that both radiolabeled aptamers specifically detected the hMMP-9. In addition, optical fluorescence imaging confirmed the binding to hMMP-9 by F3B-CY5. In order to improve tumor detection sensitivity, two types of modifications were investigated: developing of F3B multimeric structures and a bi-functional system. For both these approaches, we synthesized a dendrimer with a focal point, which could give access to a multi-modal imaging. This dendrimer has two or three spacers bearing an azide group used for coupling with aptamers by "click" chemistry. The dendrimer carrying at the focal point an amine function NH2 used for fixing biotin in order to determine the affinity Kd of this new probe by using SPR. A DOTA ligand will be fixed later in order to view this tracer in SPECT.

Les travaux réalisés aux cours de cette thèse ont portés sur la création de nouveaux complexes borates fluorescents. Des voies de synthèse relativement simples et efficaces ont permis d’accéder à deux nouvelles familles de fluorophores : les Boranils et les Boricos. Les Boranils présentent des coefficients d’absorption molaire élevés, des rendements quantiques pouvant atteindre 90% et la capacité à agir comme antenne efficace pour du transfert d’énergie photoinduit. De nombreuses modifications post-synthétiques ont été mises au point permettant l’accès à des fonctions de greffage utile pour des applications dans le domaine des cristaux liquides ou l’imagerie biomédicale. Enfin, l’extension de la conjugaison des Boranils a permis de déplacer les émissions vers le proche infrarouge. Les Boricos présentent des coefficients d’absorption élevés, des rendements quantiques allant jusqu'à 81% et la capacité à agir comme antenne ou accepteur dans des systèmes de transfert d’énergie photoinduit. / This work is dealing with new fluorescent boron complexes. Simple and efficient synthetic pathways have been described to access to two new families of fluorophores: Boranils and Boricos. Boranils present good molar absorption coefficients, high quantum yields up to 90% and the ability to act as efficient antennae for photoinduced energy transfer. Several post-synthetic modifications have been carried out leading to linking functions useful in the liquid crystal and biomedical imaging fields. Then the electronic delocalization has been extended on Boranils resulting in near-infrared emitting dyes. Boricos present good molar absorption coefficients, high quantum yield up to 81%, and the ability to act as an antenna or acceptor in photoinduced energy transfer systems.

La nanomédecine activée à deux-photon est devenue l'un des principaux candidats à l'accomplissement de la sélectivité spatiotemporelle nécessaire pour la nanomédecine. En effet, la raison d'être de l'application médicale de nanotechnologie dans le domaine du traitement du cancer est de diminuer et supprimer les effets secondaires causés par les techniques actuelles telles que la chimiothérapie et la radiothérapie, à cause de leur manque de sélectivité. Parmi diverses nanoparticules (NPs), les nanoparticules de silice mésoporeuse (MSN) ont attiré une attention croissante dans la dernière décennie pour leur faible cytotoxicité, leur internalisation cellulaire et excrétion, et leur capacité de combiner de nombreuses fonctions à la fois pour le diagnostique et la thérapie de cancers via un seul nanovéhicule : l'ainsi appelée nanomédecine théranostique.Dans cette thèse, des MSN pour l'activation à un et deux-photon d'imagerie par fluorescence, de délivrance de principe actifs et d'acides nucléiques, et de photothérapie dynamique (PTD), seront présentées. Premièrement, le relargage contrôlé de molécules encapsulées dans des MSN fonctionnalisées avec des nanovalves est considéré par effet plasmonique. La photodégradation contrôlée de la silice soumise à l'effet photothermique de NPs d'or est ensuite étudiée. Deuxièmement, l'activation biphotonique est considérée pour la délivrance contrôlée de molécules anticancéreuses in-vitro par avec des nano-rotor et des nano-valves, ainsi que la fonctionnalisation de surface des NPs par des dérivés d'ammonium- azobenzene pour la délivrance d'acides nucléiques. Troisièmement, des MSN multifonctionnelles incorporant des photosensibilisateurs à deux-photon sont systématiquement étudiées en termes de leurs propriétés optiques et photophysiques; la sélection du meilleur matériau est suivie d'applications biomédicales in-vitro.De plus, deux types de nanomatériaux émergeant sont également élaborés pour la nanomédecine activée à deux-photon, des NPs de polysilsesquioxane pontés (BS) et d'organosilice mésoporeuse périodiques (PMO). Ces matériaux furent élaborés sans précurseur de silice (tétraéthoxysilane par exemple), et seulement à partir de bis- ou multi-organoalkoxysilane, afin d'obtenir le plus haut pourcentage de matière organique pour l'application ciblée. En conséquence, des NPs de BS et de PMO hybrides à base de disulfures se révélèrent être des outils biodégradables, et les NPs à base de photosensibilisateurs furent appliquées pour la PTD à deux-photon. Des NPs de BS et de cœur-coquille d'or-BS sont synthétisées pour d'efficaces imagerie et PTD à deux-photon, tandis que des NPs de PMO servirent de nano-plateformes théranostiques. En outre, diverse NPs de PMO multipodes à surface spécifique très élevées sont présentées pour la construction de structuration complexe à l'échelle nanométrique.Enfin, des nano-conteneurs d'MSN composées de cœur d'oxyde de fer (Fe3O4@MSN) sont décrites pour de multiples applications. D'une part, l'élaboration de NPs MSN (et PMO) magnétiques sensibles à deux-photon est étudiée en tant que perspective pour la délivrance de gène combinant l'imagerie par résonance magnétique. D'autre part, les conteneurs de Fe3O4@MSN sont misent en œuvre et appliqués pour la dépollution de métaux lourds via la fonctionnalisation d'un ligand de type acide diéthylène triamine penta acétique. L'augmentation de l'efficacité de la dépollution est étudiée par la fonctionnalisation de la surface extérieure et/ou des pores des Fe3O4@MSN. / Two-photon actuated nanomedicine has become one of the main proponents for the achievement of the spatiotemporal selectivity needed for nanomedicine. Indeed, the raison d'être of the medical application of nanotechnology in the field of cancer treatment is to lower and suppress the side effects caused by current techniques such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, due to their lack of selectivity. Among various nanoparticles (NPs), mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) have attracted increasing attention over the past decade for their low cytotoxicity, cellular internalization and excretion, and the ability to carry multiple features for both the diagnosis and therapy of cancers in a single nanovehicle: the so-called theranostic nanomedicine.In this dissertation, I will describe MSN for one and/or two-photon-actuated fluorescence imaging, drug-delivery, gene delivery and photodynamic therapy (PDT). First, plasmonically-triggered cargo delivery via MSN nanovalves and designed mesoporous silica photodegradation is presented. Then, in-vitro two-photon-triggered drug delivery with azobenzene-functionalized MSN such as nanoimpellers and fluorescent nanovalves, along with preliminary studies of gene delivery via ammonium-functionalized nanoimpellers are discussed. Multifunctional MSN incorporating a two-photon photosensitizer are systematically studied in terms of the resulting optical and photophysical properties of the NPs, and then used for in-vitro biomedical applications.Furthermore, two kinds of emerging nanomaterials are also designed for two-photon actuated nanomedicine, bridged silsesquioxane (BS) and periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO) NPs. These nanomaterials are elaborated without silica precursor (e.g. tetraethoxysilane) and solely with bis- or tetra-organoalkoxysilanes, thus providing materials with the highest organic content for the targeted applications. Consequently, disulfide-based hybrid BS and PMO NPs were elaborated as biodegradable nanomedical tools, and photosensitizer-based BS and PMO NPs were used for efficient in-vitro PDT. BS and gold-BS core-shells NPs are constructed for ultrabright two-photon imaging and efficient PDT, while two-photon functionalized PMO NPs serve as theranostic nanocarriers. Besides, versatile multipodal ethylene-benzene PMO NPs with very high surface areas are presented as a promising strategy for the design of structural complexities at the nanoscale.Finally, iron oxide core MSN shell (Fe3O4@MSN) nanocontainers are described for versatile applications. The design of two-photon-sensitive magnetic MSN and PMO core-shell nanovehicles is presented as a perspective for gene delivery and magnetic resonance imaging. Furthermore, Fe3O4@MSN containers are constructed for heavy metal removal of twelve of the most toxic metal ions through the diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) ligand. The enhancement of the pollutant removal efficiency is studied by selective surface and/or porous DTPA functionalizations.

L’OCT plein champ est une technique d’imagerie permettant de faire de la microscopie des milieux diffusants à une profondeur donné à l’aide d’un système interférométrique. L’un des principaux objectifs qui ont motivé le développement de l’OCT plein champ ces dernières années a été de pouvoir fournir au chirurgien, durant les opérations des images similaires aux coupes histologiques mais en temps réel. Actuellement, les diagnostiques effectué à partir des images d’OCT plein champs donne de bon résultats, notamment dans le cas de certaine pathologie mammaire. Cependant, la différence majeure entre les coupes histologiques et les images d’OCT plein champs est qu’en OCT plein champ le contraste est uniquement un contraste morphologique et que dans certain cas, ce contraste seul ne suffit pas pour faire le diagnostic. Au cours des travaux de recherche décrits dans cette thèse nous nous sommes attachés à développer de nouvelles approches tomographiques, conduisant à de nouvelles formes de contraste susceptible d’enrichir les images d’OCT plein champ pour une meilleure qualité du diagnostic. Plus précisément, nous avons travaillé sur la détection optique et photo-thermique de nanoparticules d’or par OCT plein champ et la cartographie des propriétés mécaniques par trois méthodes dans le but de développer de nouveaux types de contrastes qui pourront permettre d’améliorer le diagnostic. / Full Field OCT (FF-OCT) is an imaging technic use to do microscopy inside scattering media at a given depth using an interferometric setup. One of the main objectives that motivated the development of FF-OCT was to provide during surgery to the surgeon images similar to histological slices but in real time. Currently, diagnostic made from FF-OCT images gives good results, especially in the case of some breast disease. However, the major difference between the histological and FF-OCT is that FF-OCT has only a morphological contrast and in some cases, this contrast is not enough to make the diagnosis. In the research described in this thesis we are committed to developing new tomographic approaches, leading to new forms of contrast may enhance images of FF- OCT for a better quality of diagnosis. Specifically, we worked on the optical and photothermal detection of gold nanoparticles by FF-OCT and the mechanical properties mapping by three methods in order to develop new types of contrasts that will help improve the diagnosis.

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