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Feasibility Study of Noninvasive Membrane Rigidity Measurements using a Model System of Giant Unilamellar Vesicles
(2017-04-24) Hernandez Alcala, John Paul; Yakovlev, Vladislav V.
Mental illnesses such as depression, ADHD, and autism contribute to a highly qualitative field of neural medicine and are insufficiently measurable and consistent; however, neuro activity such as membrane rigidity, and membrane potential can be measured and correlated with these illnesses to produce a more valid and reliable diagnostic method. Despite advances provided to the neuro-spectroscopy field from current techniques such as the combined utilization of molecular probes (such as fluorescent dyes) and second harmonic generation imaging, there is one major problem with most common noninvasive methods of measuring the membrane potential: the addition of probes or dyes for spectral signal amplification. The concerns of such an approach are cellular toxicity, pharmacological effects, and alteration of endogenous membrane potential. It is commonly reasoned that the origin of these problems is due to exogenous perturbation of the plasma membrane. To circumvent these problems, an optically driven intrinsic technique for measuring membrane rigidity will be explored in this study using a cell model system of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUV) and spontaneous Raman and Brillouin spectroscopies to pave the way for non-invasive, probe-free neuro activity measuring methods.