Haishan Zeng

BC Cancer Research Centre/ University of British Columbia · Imaging Unit - Integrative Oncology Department / Departments of Dermatology, Pathology, and Physics

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has attracted great attention in the field of nanomedicine due to its ultrasensitive detection capability. When combined with efficient multivariate statistical methods, SERS is emerging as a novel and powerful tool for biosample analysis toward applications from species identification to clinical diagnosi...

The aim of this study was to clarify the dose- and time-dependent effect of the γ-secretase inhibitor (DAPT) combined with cisplatin on osteosarcoma (OS) cells, evaluated by confocal Raman microspectral imaging (CRMI) technology. The intracellular composition significantly changed after combined drug action compared with the sole cisplatin treatmen...

Confocal Raman microspectral imaging (CRMI) has been used to detect the spectra-pathological features of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and lobular hyperplasia (LH) compared with the heathy (H) breast tissue. A total of 15–20 spectra were measured from healthy tissue, LH tissue, and DCIS tissue. One-way ANOVA and Tukey's honest significant differe...

We herein report a novel, reliable and inexpensive method for detecting esophageal cancer using blood plasma resonance Raman spectroscopy combined with multivariate analysis methods. The blood plasma samples were divided into late stage cancer group (n=164), early stage cancer group (n=35) and normal group (n=135) based on clinical pathological dia...

This paper reports a novel micro electromagnetic actuator serving as the distal rotary scanner of an endoscopic probe developed for side-viewing luminal tissue screening and analysis enabled through different endoscopic modalities. The micro rotary optical scanner, for the first time, offers stepwise, low-speed, and high-speed rotational motions to...

Confocal Raman microspectral analysis and imaging were used to elucidate the drug response of osteosarcoma (OS) to cisplatin. Raman spectral data were obtained from OS cells that were untreated (UT group) and treated with 20 µM (20T group) and 40 µM (40T group) cisplatin for 24 hours. Statistical analysis of the changes in specific Raman signals wa...

Routine monitoring of kidney transplant function is required for the standard care in post-transplantation management, including frequent measurements of serum creatinine with or without kidney biopsy. However, the invasiveness of these methods with potential for clinically significant complications makes them less than ideal. The objective of this...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects more than 10% of the global population and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In most cases, this disease is developed silently, and it can progress to the end-stage renal failure. Therefore, early detection becomes critical for initiating effective interventions. Routine diagnosis of CKD re...

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are among some of most significant public health issues worldwide. Early cancer diagnosis will increase GI cancer patients’ survival rate, however, developing endoscopes for early cancer detection is a challenge as it is difficult to design a high-resolution optical scanner. In this paper, we report a new 3D optical sc...

Our recent investigation uncovered that the acid ceramidase inhibitor LCL521 enhances the direct tumor cell killing effect of photodynamic therapy (PDT) treatment. The present study aimed at elucidating the mechanisms underlying this effect. Exposing mouse squamous cell carcinoma SCCVII cells treated with temoporfin-based PDT to LCL521 (rising cera...

Using confocal Raman micro‐spectroscopy (CRM), this study aims to elucidate the cellular responses of the γ‐secretase inhibitor, N‐[N‐(3,5‐difluorophenacetyl)‐L‐alanyl]‐S‐phenylglycine t‐butyl ester (DAPT), in osteosarcoma (OS) cells in a dose‐ and time‐dependent manner. The K7M2 murine OS cell line was treated with different DAPT doses (0, 10, 20,...

Background: Multiphoton microscopy (MPM) offers a feasible approach for the biopsy in clinical medicine, but it has not been used in clinical applications due to the lack of efficient image processing methods, especially the automatic segmentation technology. Segmentation technology is still one of the most challenging assignments of the MPM imagi...

Confocal Raman microspectroscopy (CRM) analysis provides subcellular compositional and morphology related information. In this study, we used CRM in conjunction with multivariate statistical analysis to elucidate the time-dependent impact of the γ-secretase inhibitor, DAPT (N-[N-(3,5-difluorophenacetyl)-L-alanyl]-S-phenylglycine t-butyl ester) of o...

Confocal Raman microspectral imaging was adopted to elucidate the cellular drug responses of osteosarcoma cells (OC) to N-[N-(3, 5-difluorophenyl acetyl)-L-alanyl]-sphenylglycine butyl ester (DAPT), a γ-secretase inhibitor, by identifying the drug induced subcellular compositional and structural changes. Methods: Spectral information were acquired...

Photothermal therapy (PTT) is recently clinically established cancer therapy that uses near-infrared light for thermal ablation of solid tumors. The biopolymer N-dihydrogalactochitosan (GC) was shown in multiple reports to act as a very effective adjunct to tumor PTT. In the present study, mouse tumor model SCCVII (squamous cell carcinoma) was used...

Confocal Raman microspectral imaging was adopted to elucidate the cellular drug responses of osteosarcoma cells (OC) to N-[N-(3, 5-difluorophenyl acetyl)-L-alanyl]-sphenylglycine butyl ester (DAPT), a γ-secretase inhibitor, by identifying the drug induced subcellular compositional and structural changes. Methods: Spectral information were acquired...

The study objective is to evaluate whether incorporating patient demographics into Raman spectral analysis can improve diagnostic performance. In vivo Raman spectra of 731 cases were analysed by dividing the data into two groups: skin cancers/precancers (malignant melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and actinic keratosis, n = 3...

There are many medical applications requiring angle‐resolved analysis of luminal organs. One example is lung cancer detection. Early diagnosis is the most effective way to tackle this disease. This, however, remains a challenge due to the lack of accurate detection technology. The problem is exacerbated in cases of peripheral lung cancer growing on...

Development of a sensitive, rapid and easy-to-use liquid biopsy method is of imperative clinical value for point-of-care caner diagnostics. Here, a label-free and modification-free nanotechnology based on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was employed for DNA analysis. Using the SERS signals of phosphate backbone as internal standard, quan...

We report a novel approach to selectively close single blood vessels within tissue using multiphoton absorption–based photothermolysis (multiphoton photothermolysis) without the need of exogenous agents. The treatment process is monitored by in vivo reflectance confocal microscopy in real time. Closure of single targeted vessels of varying sizes ra...

Raman spectroscopy provides molecular finger-printing of biological tissues. To achieve high spatial resolution, confocal Raman spectroscopy (micro-Raman) has been developed. To guide where micro-Raman is acquired, imaging guidance is necessary, especially for high scattering biological tissue. Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) has been integra...

Background Individuals who have kidney disease or kidney transplants need routine assessment of their kidney damage and function, which are largely measured based on histological examination of kidney biopsies, blood test, and urinalysis. These methods are practically difficult or inconvenient, and expensive. The objective of this study was to deve...

Background and Purpose Although cutaneous autofluorescence has been utilized for evaluation of skin conditions, there is a paucity of data on normal human skin autofluorescence and its dependence on anatomical site. The objective of this study is to use excitation‐emission matrix spectroscopy to quantify and characterize skin autofluorescence at di...

A miniature Raman probe was successfully developed and navigated through the lung architecture into the narrow peripheral airways. Using this probe and a home‐made rapid Raman spectroscopy system, in vivo Raman spectra were successfully obtained from the periphery lung for the first time. Further details can be found in the article by Hanna C. McGr...

As to the problem of the burning loss of the resistance and metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOS tube) in the output port of the pulse width modulation (PWM) encoder of urban rail train in Brazil, based on the function and working principle of PWM encoder, three kinds of immunity tests, namely, electrostatic discharge, electrical...

To research the influence of rail-to-ground resistance of urban transit systems on stray current, by using the method of resistance network, we established a circuit model that each metal structure, ballast bed and ground are equivalent to resistance and rail-to-ground transition resistance. The formulations of voltage and current of each metal str...

The management of cancer in the periphery lung is in critical need of new strategies. Here the development and test of a novel miniature Raman probe capable of navigating the peripheral lung architecture is reported. The probe was 1.35 mm in diameter, with a minimum bend radius of 13 mm and had a large light collection area for its size. Peripheral...

The shortage of donor livers has prompted the use of extended criteria organs, including those with fatty liver disease. While increasing the pool of organs, there is an understanding that the long-term viability of newly transplanted livers depends on an accurate and objective measurement of the fat content, and current methods leave a lot to be d...

An integrated 4‐modality endoscopy system combining white light imaging, autofluorescence imaging, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy technologies was developed for in vivo endoscopic nasopharyngeal cancer detection. Both high diagnostic sensitivity (98.6%) and high specificity (95.1%) for differentiating cancer from normal tis...

A promising, recently developed topical treatment prevents detrimental enzyme activity in burn wounds, accelerates healing and reduces scarring. Chronic wounds that do not heal fully and require ongoing medical attention are common in the elderly, obese, and/or diabetic populations, resulting in enormous costs to healthcare services. Recent researc...

Highlight studies from the extracellular matrix field picked by the Matrix Biology.

Raman spectroscopy (RS) is a unique analytical technique that probes molecular vibrations, and provides specific information about the structure and conformation of biomolecular constituents in biological tissues. Its capabilities for fast, accurate, and noninvasive/minimally invasive analysis have facilitated clinical applications in early cancer...

INTRODUCTION Raman spectroscopy offers an optical label-free and non destructive real-time solution for tissue identification and surgical guidance during Neurosurgery for brain tumours. We evaluate a novel fibre optic point-measurement system during its first use during surgery in a consecutive series of 30 patients with a range of brain tumors....

We developed an integrated system for label-free in-vivo skin morphology and biochemical analysis. It provides simultaneous, co-registered reflectance confocal microscopy and multiphoton microscopy imaging and performs targeted Raman spectroscopy of interested microstructures under imaging guidance.

Nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is an endemic with high incidence in Southern China and Southeast Asia countries. Screening for NPC under conventional white light imaging (WLI) nasopharyngoscope examination remains a great clinical challenge due to its poor sensitivity. Here, we developed an integrated four-modality endoscopy system combining WLI, auto...

Combining Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) with endoscopy, it is expected that noninvasive, rapid detection of colorectal cancer can be performed in vivo in the future. In this study, Fourier transform infrared spectra were collected from 88 endoscopic biopsy colorectal tissue samples (41 colitis and 47 cancers). A new method, viz., e...

Decorin (DCN) is a small-leucine rich proteoglycan that mediates collagen fibrillogenesis, organization, and tensile strength. Adventitial DCN is reduced in abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) resulting in vessel wall instability thereby predisposing the vessel to rupture. Recombinant DCN fusion protein CAR-DCN was engineered with an extended C-terminu...

Raman spectroscopy provides a noninvasive bedside tool that captures unique optical signals via molecular vibrations in tissue samples. Raman theory was discovered at the beginning of the twentieth century, but it was not until the past few decades that it has been used to differentiate skin neoplasms. We provide a brief description of Raman spectr...

Objective: Decorin (DCN) is a small leucine-rich proteoglycan that mediates collagen fibrollogenesis, organization, and tensile strength. DCN is reduced in abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) through a Granzyme B-dependent mechanism resulting in vessel wall instability and aneurysm formation. A recombinant decorin fusion protein CAR-DCN was engineered...

The successful application of lasers in the treatment of skin diseases and cosmetic surgery is largely based on the principle of conventional selective photothermolysis which relies strongly on the difference in the absorption between the therapeutic target and its surroundings. However, when the differentiation in absorption is not sufficient, col...

Movie S1. Multimode imaging video of the treatment process. Blue channel, RCM; Green channel, SHG; Red channel, TPF. The bottom part of the frame at 2.03 s is black because the shutter is closing.

The search for tumor biomarkers in the urine for cancer diagnosis is currently a hot topic in clinical oncology, with potential for cancer screening and diagnosis. Modified nucleosides excreted through the urine are considered to be a general tumor marker for various cancer types. Herein, we explore a new method that utilizes surface-enhanced Raman...

BACKGROUND: Raman spectroscopy offers an optical label-free and non destructive real-time solution for identifying tissue during surgery. We evaluate its use during surgery in 35 patients with a range of brain tumors. METHODS: Raman spectroscopy was deployed using a surgical protocol in this single centre study of 35 consecutive craniotomies for t...

Introduction A single centre prospective observational study involving a consecutive series of 30 patients undergoing craniotomy for intrinsic tumours and metastases. Raman spectra were systematically obtained over the normal cortical surface, on route to tumour, superficial and deep tumour zones and the resection cavity. 3D Ultrasound navigation p...

Raman spectroscopy is a noninvasive optical technique under investigation for skin disease diagnosis. In this chapter, we present a rapid real-time Raman system and an imaging-guided confocal Raman system and their applications for in vivo skin evaluation. The rapid Raman system, obtaining signals from millimeter size tissue volume, has been evalua...

Interference and polarization techniques provide the highest sensitivity and precision in optical metrology. The recently introduced polarization speckle method, incorporating both techniques, is a promising biomedical tool. In this chapter we demonstrate how the method could be used in dermatology. Measuring the polarization properties of coherent...

Scanning speed and coupling efficiency of excitation light to optic fibres are two major technical challenges that limit the potential of fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEM) spectrometer for on-line applications and in vivo studies. In this paper, a novel EEM system, utilizing a supercontinuum white light source and acousto-optic tunable...

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common type of cancer and forth leading cause of cancer-related death. Early diagnosis is the key to long-term patient survival. Programmatic screening for the general population has shown to be cost-effective in reducing the incidence and mortality from CRC. Current CRC screening strategy relies on a broad...

Photothermolysis induced by femtosecond (fs) lasers may be a promising modality in dermatology because of its advantages of high precision due to multiphoton absorption and deeper penetration due to the use of near infrared wavelengths. Although multiphoton absorption nonlinear effects are capable of precision targeting, the femtosecond laser photo...

Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) and multiphoton microscopy (MPM) are non-invasive methods of acquiring morphological images of the skin in vivo. Most research in this area focuses on instruments that are configured for two-dimensional imaging in a horizontal plane parallel to the skin surface. In contrast, conventional histopathologic evaluat...