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Updated: Jun 10, 2026

Selective Area Modification of Silicon Surface Wettability by Pulsed UV Laser Irradiation in Liquid Environment

Selective Area Modification of Silicon Surface Wettability by Pulsed UV Laser Irradiation in Liquid Environment

Published on: November 9, 2015

Airway surface liquid depth imaged by surface laser reflectance microscopy.

Jay R Thiagarajah¹, Yuanlin Song, Nico Derichs

¹Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.

The Journal of General Physiology

|August 18, 2010

Summary

A new noninvasive laser reflectance imaging method accurately measures airway surface liquid (ASL) depth. This technique offers a simpler, dye-free alternative to confocal microscopy for studying airway physiology and cystic fibrosis.

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Area of Science:

Pulmonary Medicine
Biophysics
Medical Imaging

Background:

The airway surface liquid (ASL) is crucial for normal airway function and implicated in cystic fibrosis pathophysiology.
Current ASL depth measurement relies on scanning confocal microscopy, requiring fluorescent dye staining.

Purpose of the Study:

To introduce a simple, noninvasive imaging method for measuring ASL depth using laser reflectance.
To validate the method and demonstrate its application in measuring transepithelial fluid transport.

Main Methods:

Utilized a 670-nm micro-focus laser to illuminate epithelial mucosa at a 45-degree angle with a rectangular beam.
Employed reflectance imaging to capture specular and diffuse reflections from air-liquid, liquid-liquid, and liquid-cell interfaces.
Validated the technique with known fluid thicknesses and applied it to cell cultures and ex vivo pig trachea.

Main Results:

The reflectance imaging method successfully measured ASL depth with micron resolution.
The technique was adapted to dynamically measure transepithelial fluid transport.
Demonstrated comparable results to confocal microscopy without the need for dye or expensive equipment.

Conclusions:

Surface laser reflectance microscopy provides a simple, noninvasive, and potentially cost-effective method for ASL depth measurement.
This technique eliminates the need for dye staining and may be adaptable for in vivo applications via fiberoptics.
Offers a valuable tool for research in normal airway physiology and cystic fibrosis.