Jefferson Chan, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will deliver a seminar entitled, "Expanding the Chemical Tool Box for Non-invasive Imaging of Cancer." Hosted by Jim Canary.
For more information about Jeff Chan, click here.
Abstract: Chemical probes that can selectively image molecular processes have the potential to aid in disease diagnosis, as well as provide unique insights into disease progression. Many changes occur at the molecular level before detectable symptoms have manifested. The detection of such alterations is essential to maximize treatment outcomes as it will allow us to administer therapeutics before irreversible damage or major decline of health has occurred. Our group is interested in developing chemical probes to detect and study the properties of cancer stem cells in vivo. To accomplish this goal, we utilize a variety of imaging technologies including fluorescent microscopy which is well suited for cellular studies. In this regard, we have recently developed and applied a fluorescent probe, AlDeSense, to monitor cancer stem cell plasticity in various model systems including cell cultures, tumorspheres and live animals. Additionally, we have developed a number of chemical probes for photoacoustic imaging to visualize the tumor microenvironment as cancer progresses. Briefly, photoacoustic imaging is a state-of-the-art technique that generates ultrasound signals from light, which can be detected and converted into high-resolution 3D images. Since sound scattering is three orders of magnitude less than light in tissue, photoacoustic imaging can be employed to imaging up to 8 cm in depth while achieving micron resolution. In this seminar, we will first discuss the strategies employed to construct both fluorescent and photoacoustic probes, as well as design criteria and highlight examples from our laboratory which have been used to study tumorigenic processes in vivo.