We are currently working with the Katz lab to assess the delivery of topical microbicide drugs to vaginal tissue in order to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV. We are developing a combined confocal Raman spectroscopy and optical coherence tomography instrument to measure depth-resolved tissue morphology and guide the acquisition of chemically-specific Raman spectra. Recently, we have shown that our instrument is capable of quantifying physiologically-relevant concentrations of Tenofovir, an anti-HIV microbicide, in targeted layers of intact, ex vivo tissue samples.
Collaborators:
David Katz, Ph.D