Biophysical Analytics

In this sense, fluorescence lifetime imaging of cells and, intravitally, of tissues allowed us to establish the concept of oxidative stress memory during the course of neuroinflammation, to identify factors maintaining it and, consequently, possible therapeutic approaches even in late stages of the disease – in close collaboration with our clinical partners.This project is a collaboration with Dr. H. Radbruch and Prof. Dr. F. Heppner (Neuropathology, Charité), Prof. Dr. F. Paul (Neuroimmunology, Charité) and Prof. Dr. A.E. Hauser (DRFZ). Since we expect a similar phenotypic shift in renal tissue of mice affected by lupus, we are currently performing longitudinal NAD(P)H fluorescence lifetime imaging of the kidney in collaboration with Prof. Dr. R. Voll (Erlangen, CRC130). We expanded our technology also to other organs and cell types such as the bone marrow.

Besides, taking into account the fact that the time course of chronic inflammatory diseases as well as the underlying dynamic mechanisms are not fully understood, we develop longitudinal imaging technologies to comprehend these mechanisms within one and the same individual, at cellular level.

To establish the link between the thorough knowledge we gain from our dynamic and functional intravital microscopic investigations and parameters measurable in a clinical setting, we combine non-invasive, label-free imaging methods available in clinics (such as the optical coherence tomography) with our multi-photon imaging approaches.

We aim to apply these tools in the context of rheumatic disease models to better correlate pathological mechanisms revealed by intravital microscopy with typical parameters of tissue degeneration revealed by clinical diagnosis.