Tag Archives: in vitro

Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – April 2023

April 13, 2023 by Modulight Content
No comments
 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
No comments
 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 – December 2022

December 28, 2022 by Modulight
No comments
   Modulight Spotlights: LASER-SHARP RESEARCH – December 2022 This month’s research spotlight goes to H. Wakiyama, H. Kobayashi, et al. at National Cancer Institute, USA. Their study, published in Cancer Immunology Research journal, looked into immunological mechanisms behind hyperprogressive disease. Immune checkpoint inhibitors, despite being a major success story in the field of cancer therapy, unfortunately lead to this rapid progression of cancer in some patients, for yet poorly understood reasons. To study this, the research team partially depleted cytotoxic T cells by photoimmunotherapy, using CD8-targeted Continue reading →

Light-induced drug delivery with indocyanine green liposomes

August 30, 2022 by Modulight Content
No comments
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 →

Multimodal imaging microscope for tissue engineering applications

September 14, 2021 by Modulight Content
No comments
  Motivation for the study Tissue engineering is an evolving field of medicine that aims to grow new viable tissue for repairing or regenerating damaged tissues in the body. These tissue constructs are typically made by placing cells in support matrices that have proper growth-inducing factors. However, visualizing the development and composition of these tissue constructs is challenging with currently available optical imaging methods: they are either not capable of producing 3D images at sufficient depth or lack the bright-field imaging functionality. To answer this Continue reading →Customer case Research by: Computational biophysics and imaging research group at Tampere University. Research topics include development of bioimaging, analysis and biophysics based in-silico tools for new personalized treatments and diagnostics. Modulight products: ML6600 (488, 561, and 635 nm) Laser use: Light source for in-house built multimodal 3D imaging microscope used for imaging tissue engineering processes and products.   Professor Jari Hyttinen     Link to the study:   Toni Montonen, Doctoral Researcher     Motivation for the study Tissue engineering is an evolving field of Continue reading →

Antimicrobial PDT for prosthetic joint infections

August 21, 2021 by Modulight Content
No comments
Motivation for the study Periprosthetic joint infections after hip and knee replacement surgeries are associated with high patient morbidity and a large financial cost. Challenging two-stage revision surgeries are required with long antibiotics regimes that can have limited efficacy and cannot eradicate drug-resistant strains like MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). This study aims to investigate the potential of photodynamic therapy with methylene blue to eradicate problematic bacteria associated with joint infections.   Results Photos from the original publication. Reproduced under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Continue reading →Customer case Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital at UCL, Stanmore in London, UK is an internationally leading Centre of Excellence and tertiary referral centre for complex orthopedic conditions. Close collaboration between clinicians and engineers facilitates high-quality research into orthopedic implant fixation and bone regeneration. The focus is on translational themes that include biomaterials, stem cells, the design and follow-up of implants, bone graft substitute materials and implant infections. PDT has been studied as an alternative to antibiotics to more effectively tackle infections following hip & knee Continue reading →

Photothermal therapy with platinum nanoparticles

August 16, 2021 by Modulight Content
No comments
Photothermal therapy efficiency Human ovarian cancer cells were plated on Petri dishes and incubated with platinum nanoparticles of varying sizes between 30 and 70 nm. After 24-hour incubation, irradiation was performed using a Modulight ML6600 laser at 808 nm together with an illumination kit (MLAKIT) tailored for Petri dish illumination. A small area of the dish was illuminated with the laser for five minutes with 45 W/cm2 irradiance. Calcein cell viability staining was performed 24 hours after the laser treatment and cells were examined with a Continue reading →Customer case Experimental Biophysics and Optical Manipulation research group studies biophysical properties of the cells using advanced optical techniques like optical trapping and nanoscale thermoplasmonics. Biophysical studies include the dynamics of plasma membrane, the effect of proteins on the membrane mechanisms of plasma membrane ruptures. Another important research area is photothermal therapy (PTT) using near-infrared laser to heat metallic nanoparticles. This heating of nanoparticles is also studied to deliver RNA therapeutics into the tumor tissue.  PET imaging is used to monitor treatment effects. Modulight products: ML6600 Continue reading →

Novel antimicrobial phototherapy against emerging infectious diseases

June 12, 2021 by Modulight Content
No comments
      Results PIAS-treated pathogens were effectively eradicated upon NIR illumination. The efficacy of PIAS was dependent on the NIR light dose, 50 J/cm2 eradicating all MRSA from the rat nasal tract (Figure 1). PIAS also saved all mice from fatal MRSA infections, similar to VCM+RFP antibiotics and even more effectively than VCM antibiotics alone (Figure 2). Unlike the antibiotics, PIAS acted selectively on the target pathogen and did not affect host’s normal intestinal microflora (Figure 3). Also generation of microbial resistance, common problem Continue reading →Customer case Research by: The Jikei University School of Medicine located in Tokyo, Japan and founded in 1881 is today one of the three major private medical schools in Japan. This cutting-edge study was done in close collaboration with Professor Hisataka Kobayashi’s Laboratory of Molecular Theranostics at National Cancer Institute. Modulight products: ML6500 (689 nm, 3 W)   Dr. Makoto Mitsunaga, M.D., PhD   Dr. Tadayuki Iwase, PhD   Dr. Hisataka Kobayashi, M.D., PhD Laser use: Photoimmunotherapy and photochemotherapy of cancer (pancreatic, breast, gastric) and infectious Continue reading →

Development of heat shock protein 90-targeted PDT for inflammatory breast cancer

May 17, 2021 by Modulight Content
No comments
Motivation of the study In photodynamic therapy (PDT), systemically administered photosensitizer is activated within the tumor using focused near-infrared light, typically a laser with a wavelength matching the absorption peak of the photosensitizer. Several photosensitizers have been clinically approved for the treatment of different cancers; however, their accumulation is non-tumor exclusive which exposes healthy tissues to side effects like daylight-induced phototoxicity. A promising strategy to improve tumor selectivity is to couple photosensitizer to a tumor-targeting agent that binds to a specific antigen expressed on the Continue reading →Customer case Research by: Duke University, founded in 1924, is one of the leading and wealthiest private research universities in the USA. The most notable Duke alumni is President Richard Nixon. Research at Duke University has been awarded with several Nobel prizes in recent years for groundbreaking discoveries in biochemistry and medicine, such as G-protein coupled receptors, DNA mismatch repair, and cellular regulation of hypoxia. Modulight products: ML8500, ML7710 (665 nm, 689 nm, 750 nm) Laser use: Heat shock protein 90-targeted PDT for breast cancer Continue reading →

In vitro illumination using ML8500: osmium-based anticancer photosensitizer with highest hypoxic activity reported to date

March 26, 2021 by Modulight Content
No comments
  Study protocol to determine wavelength, fluence, and irradiance activities of Os-4T:   Key observations Illumination parameters significantly affected the phototoxicity of Os-4T. The green light (525 nm) was more effective than the red light (630 nm) at lower fluences, while the maximal potency was achieved at both wavelengths when using fluences higher than 100 J/cm2. Irradiance affected the potency with both the red and the green light that were more effective when lower irradiances were used.   Graphs from the original publication. Open-access content Continue reading →Basic Info of the Study Research by: University of Texas at Arlington, US. One of the leading groups in photoactive drug discovery. Developed first clinical-level rubidium-based PS (TLD-1433), now in Theralase-sponsored Phase 2 trials for bladder cancer. Modulight products: ML8500 (445 nm, 525 nm, 630 nm, 753 nm, 810 nm) Laser use: Photoactive drug discovery Link to the study: Dr. Sherri McFarland (see her referral of Modulight) Research topics: Medicinal inorganic chemistry and drug discovery. Special interest in the synthesis of novel transition metal complexes and Continue reading →