Electrical impedance tomography for imaging tissue electroporation

Electroporation is a method to introduce molecules, such as gene constructs or small drugs, into cells by temporarily permeating the cell membrane with electric pulses. In molecular medicine and biotechnology, tissue electroporation is performed with electrodes placed in the target area of the body. Currently, tissue electroporation, as with all other methods of molecular medicine, is performed without real-time control or near-term information regarding the extent and degree of electroporation. This paper expands the work from our previous study by implementing new ex vivo experimental data with "front-tracking" analysis for the image reconstruction algorithm. The experimental data is incorporated into numerical simulations of electroporation procedures and images are generated using the new reconstruction algorithm to demonstrate that electrical impedance tomography (EIT) can produce an image of the electroporated area. Combining EIT with electroporation could become an important biotechnological and medical technique to introduce therapeutic molecules into cells in tissue at predetermined areas of the body.     

基于太赫兹时域光谱的壁画信息提取的可行性研究

采用太赫兹时域光谱技术对传统中国壁画的部分制作流程进行了分析,获得了壁画制作每个流程的太赫兹时域反射谱。研究了传统中国壁画在0.2～1.0 THz频率范围内的太赫兹光谱特性,得到了其在室温环境下的太赫兹吸收谱和折射率。结果表明,各样品的折射率平均值和吸收系数的峰值频率差异显著。研究结果能为太赫兹时域光谱技术在壁画信息提取领域的应用提供参考。     

Theoretical and experimental analysis of electroporated membrane conductance in cell suspension

An intense electric field can be applied to increase the membrane conductance G(m) and consequently, the conductivity of cell suspension. This phenomenon is called electroporation. This mechanism is used in a wide range of medical applications, genetic engineering, and therapies. Conductivity measurements of cell suspensions were carried out during application of electric fields from 40 to 165 kV/m. Experimental results were analyzed with two electroporation models: the asymptotic electroporation model was used to estimate G(m) at the beginning and at the end of electric field pulse, and the extended Kinosita electroporation model to increase G(m) linearly in time. The maximum G(m) was 1-7 × 10(4) S/m(2), and the critical angle (when the G(m) is insignificant) was 50°-65°. In addition, the sensitivity of electroporated membrane conductance to extracellular and cytoplasmatic conductivity and cell radius has been studied. This study showed that external conductivity and cell radius are important parameters affecting the pore-opening phenomenon. However, if the cell radius is larger than 7 μm in low conductivity medium, the cell dimensions are not so important.     

Investigating membrane breakdown of neuronal cells exposed to nonuniform electric fields by finite-element modeling and experiments

High electric field strengths may induce high cell membrane potentials. At a certain breakdown level the membrane potential becomes constant due to the transition from an insulating state into a high conductivity and high permeability state. Pores are thought to be created through which molecules may be transported into and out of the cell interior. Membrane rupture may follow due to the expansion of pores or the creation of many small pores across a certain part of the membrane surface. In nonuniform electric fields, it is difficult to predict the electroporated membrane area. Therefore, in this study the induced membrane potential and the membrane area where this potential exceeds the breakdown level is investigated by finite-element modeling. Results from experiments in which the collapse of neuronal cells was detected were combined with the computed field strengths in order to investigate membrane breakdown and membrane rupture. It was found that in nonuniform fields membrane rupture is position dependent, especially at higher breakdown levels. This indicates that the size of the membrane site that is affected by electroporation determines rupture.     

碳类烟幕材料对太赫兹波的衰减特性

为获得太赫兹波对碳类烟幕的穿透特性,采用压片法分别将不同比例混合的石墨粉和KBr、碳黑粉和KBr进行压片,利用太赫兹时域光谱仪在0.2~1.1 THz频率范围内测试压片样品的太赫兹透射光谱,进而获得样品在该频率范围内的吸收系数。研究发现:随着频率的增大,样品的吸收系数均逐渐增大,且在同一频率处,其均随碳类粉末掺杂比例的增加而增大;与石墨相比,相同掺杂比例的碳黑样品具有更大的吸收系数。结果表明,太赫兹波具有较强的穿透石墨烟幕的能力,但其对碳黑烟幕的穿透能力较弱,利用碳黑有望进行太赫兹波段烟幕的研制。     

鞣花酸的太赫兹光谱研究

鞣花酸是一种存在于多种植物中的天然多酚组分,近年来越来越多的实验证实鞣花酸在抑制癌细胞增长和诱导癌细胞凋亡方面有很好的效果,同时也具有抗氧化和抗辐射等作用,在抗癌药品及保健药品中占有重要地位。因此对鞣花酸的研究有着重要的意义。太赫兹时域光谱技术（THz－TDS）是一种新型的时间分辨相干探测技术,本文利用太赫兹时域光谱技术研究了鞣花酸在0.2－2.4THz波段的光谱特性,得到了鞣花酸的吸收谱和折射率谱,并利用密度泛函理论(DFT)进行了模拟计算。研究发现,鞣花酸在该波段有光谱响应,分别在0.44、0.73、0.99、1.26、1.58、1.87和2.19THz频率处出现了反常色散现象和吸收峰。可以作为检测鞣花酸存在的定量分析依据,为药品及食品检测提供指导。     

Experimental and Theoretical Study of Strong Low-Terahertz Absorption of Thymine

The absorption coefficient of a nucleobase-thymine-in powder form was measured with terahertz spectroscopy in both frequency- and time-domain experiments. For frequencies below 3 THz, a strong signature was observed at 1.27 THz. Furthermore, molecular-dynamic simulations were conducted to reveal that the 1.27 THz absorption signature is related to a transverse optical phonon mode. The simulations also indicated that bound water molecules are vital to the vibrational mode.     

On the Influence of Delay Line Uncertainty in THz Time-Domain Spectroscopy

Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz TDS) is a well-known tool for material analysis in the terahertz frequency band. One crucial system component in every time-domain spectrometer is the delay line which is necessary to accomplish the sampling of the electric field over time. Despite the fact that most of the uncertainty sources in TDS have been discussed, the delay line uncertainty has not been considered in detail. We model the impact of delay line uncertainty on the acquired THz TDS data. Interferometric measurements of the delay line precision and THz time-domain data are used to validate the theoretical model.     

Characterization of spectra of lignin from midribs of tobacco at THz frequencies

The functions of the chemicals are closely related with their compositions and structures.In this paper, we report the characterization of different lignin in the midribs of tobacco leaves using terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy in the frequency range of 0.3 to 2 THz.These lignins are extracted from tobacco leaves grown in different regions.Lignin in midribs of tobacco leaves from the south region and the north region show distinctively different refractive indexes and absorption coefficients at THz frequency.The differences at THz range are found to be correlated with their chemical compositions, which are obtained by way of X-ray microanalysis.This clearly verifies that it is possible to employ THz time-domain spectroscopy as a tool for identifying the functions of the chemicals and analyzing their chemical compositions.     

丁基羟基茴香醚的太赫兹时域光谱检测与分析

利用太赫兹时域光谱（THz-TDS）技术对食品添加剂丁基羟基茴香醚（BHA）及其与聚乙烯不同配比的混合物进行了检测,获得了其在0.2-2.6THz波段的吸收谱和折射率谱。实验结果表明,在此波段内该物质有三个明显的吸收峰,分别位于0.64THz,1.14THz和1.81THz,该指纹谱可用于THz波段该物质的检测与识别。此外,利用最小二乘法对混合物太赫兹光谱峰位的吸收系数和质量分数进行线性拟合,结果表明聚乙烯中丁基羟基茴香醚的含量与太赫兹光谱的相关系数大于0.98。最后,用密度泛函理论对单分子丁基羟基茴香醚进行了数值计算,表明太赫兹指纹谱与分子构型和分子内部运动有关系。     

氧化镁单晶在太赫兹波段的介电特性

利用太赫兹时域光谱系统,在0.5~9.5 THz范围内对氧化镁单晶基片的介电特性进行了研究,并获得折射率、吸收系数以及复介电函数信息。实验数据表明,在低频（ 2 THz）范围内,氧化镁单晶透过性较好,折射率在3.12~3.15之间。折射率和吸收系数均随频率增加而增大,且在3.16 THz和8.11 THz两处存在明显的吸收峰。通过经典的赝简谐振动理论很好地拟合了实验结果,分析了晶体中的横向光学声子振动模式,为氧化镁单晶在宽带太赫兹波段的应用提供了有益参考。     

运用太赫兹时域光谱技术定量分析柴油的含硫量

测量柴油样品的太赫兹时域光谱并对其含硫量进行了定量计算.在0.2 ～1.5 THz范围内,柴油的吸收系数随着太赫兹频率和硫含量呈规律性递增.基于这一变化关系建立起了硫含量与太赫兹吸收系数和频率的多元非线性模型,通过测量柴油的太赫兹光谱代入此模型即可计算出柴油的硫含量.这一结果为太赫兹时域光谱技术应用于柴油含硫量的无损快速检测奠定了理论基础,显示出巨大的应用前景.     

Experimental characterization and numerical modeling of tissue electrical conductivity during pulsed electric fields for irreversible electroporation treatment planning

Irreversible electroporation is a new technique to kill cells in targeted tissue, such as tumors, through a nonthermal mechanism using electric pulses to irrecoverably disrupt the cell membrane. Treatment effects relate to the tissue electric field distribution, which can be predicted with numerical modeling for therapy planning. Pulse effects will change the cell and tissue properties through thermal and electroporation (EP)-based processes. This investigation characterizes these changes by measuring the electrical conductivity and temperature of ex vivo renal porcine tissue within a single pulse and for a 200 pulse protocol. These changes are incorporated into an equivalent circuit model for cells and tissue with a variable EP-based resistance, providing a potential method to estimate conductivity as a function of electric field and pulse length for other tissues. Finally, a numerical model using a human kidney volumetric mesh evaluated how treatment predictions vary when EP- and temperature-based electrical conductivity changes are incorporated. We conclude that significant changes in predicted outcomes will occur when the experimental results are applied to the numerical model, where the direction and degree of change varies with the electric field considered.     

Quantify Glucose Level in Freshly Diabetic’s Blood by Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy

We demonstrate the capability of terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy (TDS) to quantify glucose level in ex vivo freshly diabetic’s blood. By investigating the THz spectra of different human blood, we find out THz absorption coefficients reflect a high sensitivity to the glucose level in blood. With a quantitative analysis of 70 patients, we demonstrate that the THz absorption coefficients and the blood glucose levels perform a linear relationship. A comparative experiment between THz measurement and glucometers is also conducted with another 20 blood samples, and the results confirm that the relative error is as less as 15%. Our ex vivo human blood study indicates that THz technique has great potential application to diagnose blood glucose level in clinical practice.     

太赫兹波对肠黏液的光谱检测

主要利用太赫兹时域光谱技术对人体正常肠组织表面黏液与癌变肠组织表面黏液进行检测.分别获得了不同样品在0.2 THz～0.8 THz波段的吸收系数和折射率.研究发现,新鲜正常肠组织表面黏液的太赫兹吸收与水的吸收接近,这提示水的贡献是主要的.同时,癌变肠组织表面黏液在吸收系数和折射率强度上普遍比正常肠组织表面黏液样品高,这表明该技术在癌组织检测中具有潜在的应用.研究结果表明,太赫兹时域光谱技术在生物组织检测和临床医学如肿瘤疾病诊断方面具有广泛的应用前景.     

太赫兹频率下镁掺杂对氧化锌纳米粉体介电性能的影响

利用偶极天线LT-GaAs发射的太赫兹时域光谱(THz-TDS)研究单晶氧化锌、未掺杂和Mg掺杂的ZnO纳米粉末(粒子)在室温下的太赫兹光谱特性。在0.2~2 THz频率范围内研究了样品的功率吸收和折射率。结果发现,镁掺杂提高了样品材料的吸收效率,同时降低了氧化锌材料的折射率。相比较氧化锌单晶,未掺杂和Mg掺杂氧化锌纳米颗粒的太赫兹介电性质呈现类似的行为,该结果与横向光学E1(TO)声子模式有关。     

FOX-7太赫兹波吸收特性及理论计算

为了研究新型高能钝感材料1,1-二氨基-2,2-二硝基乙烯(FOX-7)的分子结构特性,采用太赫兹时域光谱技术对FOX-7在0.2~2.3 THz波谱范围内的吸收光谱进行了探测,得到了待测样品的太赫兹吸收谱线,确定了其特征吸收峰的位置.基于密度泛函理论(DFT)对FOX-7单分子和晶体结构在小于2.4 THz范围内的吸收光谱进行了模拟计算,结果表明分子间相互作用对FOX-7吸收峰的形成起到很大的作用.完成了对实验光谱中特征吸收峰振动模式的分析和指认:1.59 THz处吸收峰的光谱特征主要由―NO2和―NH2的摆动造成,2.12 THz 处吸收峰光谱特征的产生包含―NO2和―NH2的摆动以及各自的扭动.     

ZnTe晶体对太赫兹波的电光响应及极化匹配

给出了ZnTe电光晶体折射率和吸收系数随太赫兹波频率而变化的计算曲线,比较了太赫兹波在ZnTe中传播时的相速度和群速度。通过与太赫兹频率和晶体厚度相关的电光效率响应函数,理论计算了ZnTe电光晶体对太赫兹脉冲的探测电光响应,得到了晶体厚度与探测到的太赫兹频谱宽度的定性关系,从计算结果中找到了ZnTe电光晶体在5.3 THz和6.2 THz等多个频点的探测盲点,这些探测盲点来自于ZnTe电光晶体与相应频点太赫兹波的栅格共振吸收。结合自制的大口径太赫兹光导天线和1 kHz脉冲重复频率的太赫兹时域光谱实验系统,通过差分探测技术,从实验上得到了太赫兹波极化方向与〈110〉型ZnTe晶体晶轴方向的六个最佳匹配角度,给出了太赫兹电场最大值随晶轴与太赫兹波极化方向之间夹角变化的曲线及经验公式,这将有利于在实践中对该现象的深入理解和对探测灵敏度的有效提高。     

Cobalt-Based Ferrites Characterization Using Two Different Terahertz Time-Domain Spectrometers

We report an experimental study of the electrical properties of manganese cobalt (MnCo) and nickel cobalt (NiCo) ferrites in the terahertz (THz) frequency band. The study is motivated by the potential of MnCo, NiCo, and other magnetic ceramics for the fabrication of active and passive devices for THz wave communications. Using two different terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy systems, we characterized the optical constants of cobalt ferrites doped with manganese and nickel in the technologically important 0.2–1 THz frequency band. The MnCo and NiCo ferrites investigated in our study exhibit a lower refractive index and absorption coefficient in the 0.2–1 THz frequency band than commercial strontium ferrite. We observed that using different valency ion oxide leads to a sudden change of the refractive index as a function of sample stoichiometries. Our experimental results provide evidence that microwave ferrite technology can be extended to the THz frequency band.     

太赫兹检测技术在炸药检测中的应用

介绍了太赫兹辐射光谱技术与成像技术在炸药相关检测领域的几个实际应用方向：太赫兹辐射对炸药所处的状态非常敏感,温度的不同和晶型的不同都会在太赫兹光谱中有所反映,不同晶向的炸药样品吸收特征也有所差别,可用于炸药精细结构的检测分析;利用太赫兹时域光谱装置测量各种单质化合物的光谱,再采用线性回归技术,对测量的混合化合物太赫兹谱进行分析,能得到混合材料的成分和相对含量,可用于研究混合炸药在不同状态下的表面组分变化情况;利用水分子对太赫兹辐射强烈的吸收特性,能够有效地对库存炸药表面水分布的变化情况进行无损检测与评价。这些研究方向可有效地应用于炸药的无损检测当中,为炸药状态的无损评价提供新的思路与方法。