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The Extracellular Matrix

The Extracellular Matrix

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 22, 2026

Long-term Intravital Immunofluorescence Imaging of Tissue Matrix Components with Epifluorescence and Two-photon Microscopy

Long-term Intravital Immunofluorescence Imaging of Tissue Matrix Components with Epifluorescence and Two-photon Microscopy

Published on: April 22, 2014

Imaging Extracellular Matrix Remodeling In Vitro by Diffusion-Sensitive Optical Coherence Tomography.

Richard L Blackmon¹, Rupninder Sandhu², Brian S Chapman³

¹Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Biophysical Journal

|April 28, 2016

Summary

Diffusion-sensitive optical coherence tomography (DS-OCT) measures nanoscale extracellular matrix (ECM) porosity using gold nanorods (GNRs). This technique reveals how fibroblast remodeling impacts breast cancer-associated ECM changes.

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Last Updated: Mar 22, 2026

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Nondestructive Monitoring of Degradable Scaffold-Based Tissue-Engineered Blood Vessel Development Using Optical Coherence Tomography

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Published on: October 3, 2018

Automated 3D Optical Coherence Tomography to Elucidate Biofilm Morphogenesis Over Large Spatial Scales

Automated 3D Optical Coherence Tomography to Elucidate Biofilm Morphogenesis Over Large Spatial Scales

Published on: August 21, 2019

Area of Science:

Biomedical Optics
Materials Science
Cancer Biology

Background:

The mammary gland extracellular matrix (ECM), primarily collagen I, is remodeled by fibroblasts, altering pore size and influencing breast cancer aggressiveness.
Current methods for measuring ECM pore distribution in tissues and 3D cultures are limited, hindering research into cancer progression.
Minimally invasive techniques are needed to assess nanoscale ECM changes in real-time within complex biological models.

Purpose of the Study:

To introduce and validate diffusion-sensitive optical coherence tomography (DS-OCT) as a method for imaging nanoscale ECM porosity.
To assess the correlation between DS-OCT measurements and traditional pore area quantification.
To investigate the impact of fibroblast density and remodeling on mammary ECM porosity using DS-OCT.

Main Methods:

DS-OCT combines low-coherence interferometry and heterodyne dynamic light scattering to measure gold nanorod (GNR) diffusion.
GNR diffusion rates (DT) are sensitive to ECM pore size (∼46 nm hydrodynamic diameter) and fiber spacing.
Validation involved collagen I gels and 3D mammary fibroblast cultures, with comparisons to scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Main Results:

DS-OCT accurately resolved nanoscale ECM porosity, correlating highly with SEM-determined pore area (R(2) = 0.968).
The technique mapped spatial heterogeneity in layered samples and demonstrated increased matrix porosity heterogeneity with higher fibroblast density.
DS-OCT provided insights into nanoscale ECM changes (∼43–360 nm pore diameters) resulting from fibroblast remodeling.

Conclusions:

DS-OCT is a promising, minimally invasive tool for quantifying nanoscale ECM porosity in 3D cultures and potentially in vivo.
The technology offers a novel way to study tissue remodeling processes relevant to cancer and other diseases.
DS-OCT reveals the significant impact of cellular activity on the microstructural properties of the extracellular matrix.