Tissue engineering (TE) constructs are an attractive alternative therapy for patients with e.g., degenerated cartilage. The positive patient outcome relies on the quality of the TE constructs as they should mimic the native tissue in its molecular, chemical, and physical properties. Most quality assessment techniques of TE constructs are destructive to the sample. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a novel non-destructive method to control the in vitro cultivating process. Here, we present Raman Projection Tomography (RPT) which enables live label-free 3D molecular imaging. RPT was employed for the non-destructive quality control of cartilage TE constructs.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorder characterized by synovial inflammation and pannus formation leading to destruction of local articular structure, bone erosion and functional disabilities. Common research models of inflammatory arthritis in rodents e.g. collagen antibody-induced arthritis (CAIA) in mice are associated with pain, discomfort, and distress.
Here we demonstrate in vivo assessment of CAIA mice using a transflection Raman setup. Mice with induced arthritis and controls were clinically and spectroscopically assessed for 14 days. Raman measurements of tibiotarsal joint bone density correlated well with volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) in mice exhibiting clinical symptoms of arthritis.
Although organic solar cells show intriguing features such as low-cost, mechanical flexibility and light weight, their efficiency is still low compared to their inorganic counterparts. One way of improving their efficiency is by the use of light-trapping mechanisms from nano- or microstructures, which makes it possible to improve the light absorption and charge extraction in the device’s active layer. Here, periodically arranged colloidal gold nanoparticles are demonstrated experimentally and theoretically to improve light absorption and thus enhance the efficiency of organic solar cells. Surface-ordered gold nanoparticle arrangements are integrated at the bottom electrode of organic solar cells. The resulting optical interference and absorption effects are numerically investigated in bulk hetero-junction solar cells based on the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) and Transfer Matrix Method (TMM) and as a function of size and periodicity of the plasmonic arrangements. In addition, light absorption enhancement in the organic active layer is investigated experimentally following integration of the nanoparticle arrangements. The latter are fabricated using a lithography-free stamping technique, creating a centimeter scaled area with nanoparticles having a defined inter-particle spacing. Our study reveals the light harvesting ability of template-assisted nanoparticle assemblies in organic solar cells. As the approach is easily scalable, it is an efficient and transferable method for large-scale, low cost device fabrication.
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