Author Archives: Modulight Content

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Modulight wants to share high-quality scientific publications, white papers, application notes, and other articles. The articles shared are courtesy of the authoring researchers and groups and we're thankful for giving us the permission to honor their work this way. If you have something to share please drop us a line (see the contact form at Contact Us section).

Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – April 2023

April 13, 2023 by Modulight Content
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 Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – April 2023 Metastases remain the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. To combat this problem, Ruben V. Huis in ‘t Veld et al. combined immune checkpoint inhibitors with a light-activated virus-drug conjugate in their preclinical study. As published in Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy journal, the combination was effective against metastatic tumors and in most cases even resulted in complete responses to therapy. ​​ Read original publication   Modulight is very happy to be supporting this research. We would like to deliver our Continue reading →

Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – February 2023

February 23, 2023 by Modulight Content
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 Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – February 2023 The nomination for Laser-Sharp Research goes to Mäki-Mikola et al. at University of Helsinki for their development of a dynamic cell culturing platform for light-activation studies. The developed platform has a flow chamber connected to a peristaltic pump, which creates a flow that resembles the natural fluid flow at the cell surfaces. ML6500 laser was used to release calcein from liposomes to validate the suitability of the platform for light-triggered drug release. Compared to traditional static cell culture Continue reading →

Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – November 2022

November 16, 2022 by Modulight Content
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   Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – November 2022 This month’s Spotlight goes to Susumu Yamashita et al. for promising findings on novel light-based therapy for breast cancer treatment, published in a journal Cancer Medicine. Their teams at Olympus and Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology developed trastuzumab-conjugated photo-absorber (Tra-IR700) which targets HER2-positive breast cancer cells. This treatment strategy is particularly relevant, since HER2 biomarker is associated with poor survival of breast cancer patients and often has intrinsic or acquired resistance to standard trastuzumab therapy. Especially for these patients, Tra-IR700 activated with Continue reading →

Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – October 2022

October 18, 2022 by Modulight Content
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   Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – October 2022 This month’s laser sharp nomination goes to Takuya Osada‘s team at Duke University Medical Center. Their impressive results on novel immunotherapy combination strategy for breast cancer was published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer. The team combined immune checkpoint blockage with HSP90-targeted light therapy using ML7710 medical laser. This combination resulted in strong activation of antitumor immunity and prolonged survival in syngeneic breast cancer models. Impressively, adding immune checkpoint blockers even resulted in an increased antitumor activity elsewhere, outside the local light-treated area, showing potential Continue reading →

Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – September 2022

September 8, 2022 by Modulight Content
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   Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – September 2022 Mesothelioma is a form of pleural cancer originating primarily from asbestos exposure. There is currently no curative treatment available for this cancer and its prevalence is on the rise, hence new treatment options are urgently needed. To answer this need, Professors Timothy C. Zhu and Keith Cengel with their teams at University of Pennsylvania have for several years studied intraoperative photodynamic therapy, where photosensitive drug is locally activated with laser light, as a potential new adjunctive treatment for this aggressive disease. Their most recent Continue reading →

Light-induced drug delivery with indocyanine green liposomes

August 30, 2022 by Modulight Content
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Introduction to light-controlled drug delivery systems Study description It is important that light-triggered liposomes efficiently release their contents, while the liposome stability should be maintained in the absence of laser light. The aim of this study is to determine how liposomal stability and drug release are affected by liposomal formulation. Indocyanine green was used as the light-sensitizing compound in the liposomes since it is clinically approved light-sensitive agent. Three different liposomal formulations were prepared: Formulation A: ICG in the aqueous core, liposomes coated Formulation B: ICG in the liposomal Continue reading →Customer case Faculty of Pharmacy at University of Helsinki is specialized in top-level pharmaceutical research. Multidisciplinary research fields include clinical pharmacy, experimental drugs, nanomedicines, and pharmaceutical drug design. Drug delivery unit led by Professor Arto Urtti focuses on design and testing of advanced drug delivery systems especially for ocular indications. Light is studied as an important tool to control the drug delivery to the target tissues. Modulight products: ML6600 (810 nm) + Modulight in vitro illumination kit (MLAKIT) Professor Arto Urtti   Senior Pharmaceutical Researcher Tatu Continue reading →

Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – August 2022

August 10, 2022 by Modulight Content
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 Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – August 2022 Impressive research on head & neck cancer was published by Obaid Lab for molecular imaging and optical nanotherapeutics, at University of Texas, Dallas. The group used Modulight’s ML6500 for a subtherapeutic modulation of tumor microenvironment of H&N. This significantly improved delivery of molecular imaging agent to the tumors as well as improved diagnostic accuracy in detecting tumor tissue by fluorescence. Since incomplete resection and consequent recurrences are common problem with current H&N cancer treatment, this discovery answers unmet Continue reading →

Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – July 2022

July 11, 2022 by Modulight Content
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 Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – July 2022 Modulight congratulates Dr. Makoto Mitsunaga et al. Jikei University School of Medicine for publishing their promising results in Communications Biology journal. The team developed a next-generation light-based approach to tackle pathogens, called photoimmuno-antimicrobial strategy (PIAS). This technology was shown to eliminate a broad spectrum of different classes of pathogens, such as viruses, fungi, and bacteria. Unlike antibiotics, PIAS was also effective against drug-resistant pathogens and didn’t damage natural, beneficial microbiota in the host’s tissues. As COVID-19 pandemic and Continue reading →

Fluorescence imaging & endoscopy for tumor visualization and diagnostics

July 6, 2022 by Modulight Content
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Several fluorescent agents have been approved for fluorescence based diagnosis & intraoperative imaging: Dye generic name Countries Excitation Detection Indications Indocyanine Green (ICG) Worldwide 800 nm Near-infrared (820 nm) Multiple uses: lymphatic mapping, tissue perfusion, visualization of biliary ducts and blood veins, retinal angiography Fluorescein Worldwide 490 nm Green fluorescence (525 nm) Fluorescein angiography or angioscopy (ophthalmology) Methylene Blue Worldwide 665 nm 688 nm Endoscopic polypectomy, chromoendoscopy, lymphatic drainage 5-ALA Hydrochloride (converted to Pp-IX) Worldwide 400 – 410 nm Red fluorescence (620 – 710 nm) Continue reading →Introduction to fluorescence imaging Fluorescence is a phenomenon where substance that has absorbed certain wavelength of light emits it back at another wavelength. These substances are called fluorophores or fluorescent dyes. The emitted light has a longer wavelength than the absorbed one since some energy of the photon is lost in the process. The difference in wavelengths between absorbed and emitted light, called Stokes shift, allows very low background for fluorescence detection by separating it from the excitation light. The process of fluorescence generation is Continue reading →

Flow cytometry

March 28, 2022 by Modulight Content
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Introduction Flow cytometry is a widely used method in biomedical research and increasingly also in clinical diagnostics. It is a powerful and rapid technique to analyze physical and chemical properties of single cells or particles as they are suspended in liquid and pass in a narrow line across laser beams. Fluorescence together with scattered laser light is then filtered, detected, and analyzed on the other side of the sample. In addition to analysis, many flow cytometers can also sort and purify cell populations of interest Continue reading →Introduction Flow cytometry is a widely used method in biomedical research and increasingly also in clinical diagnostics. It is a powerful and rapid technique to analyze physical and chemical properties of single cells or particles as they are suspended in liquid and pass in a narrow line across laser beams. Fluorescence together with scattered laser light is then filtered, detected, and analyzed on the other side of the sample. In addition to analysis, many flow cytometers can also sort and purify cell populations of interest Continue reading →