07/20/2021
By Androniki Mitrou
The Kennedy College of Science, Department of Physics & Applied Physics invites you to attend an M.S. thesis defense by Androniki Mitrou entitled "Dual-contrast imaging of breast pathologies.”
Candidate: Androniki Mitrou
Date: Monday, August 2, 2021
Time: 11 a.m.
Location: This will be a virtual defense via Zoom. Those interested in attending should contact Androniki_mitrou@student.uml.edu to request access.
Committee:
- Anna Yaroslavsky, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Physics & Applied Physics, University of Massachusetts Lowell
- Ashraf Khan, M.D., Professor, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Chair of Pathology, University of Massachusetts Medical School-Baystate Health
- Mark Tries, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Physics & Applied Physics, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Abstract:
The work presented in this thesis pursued two goals. The first goal was to investigate the utility of combining two contrast agents, cancer specific Alexa532-pHLIP and intravital Methylene Blue for enhancing contrast of malignant breast tumors. The second goal was to explore wide-field and high-resolution optical fluorescence and fluorescence polarization imaging for the detection and delineation of breast cancers. The localization sites of the two agents in breast tissue were established using high resolution confocal imaging. It was revealed that MB localizes to the nuclei of all cells and Alexa532-pHLIP stains the cytoplasm of cancer cells with some residual staining of connective tissues. Most importantly, it was demonstrated that the two agents combined, successfully delineate breast tumors in wide-field images and discriminate malignant from benign conditions in high-resolution images. The results obtained in these feasibility studies point to high translational potential of the dual contrast wide-field and high-resolution optical imaging for applications in pathology and surgery.