# On-Chip Expansion Microscopy

> **NIH NIH R03** · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · 2020 · $89,500

## Abstract

Abstract
By generating three-dimensional (3D) microtissues or organoids that accurately mimic the in vivo cellular
functions, the organ-on-a-chip technologies have been playing an increasingly important role in exploiting biology
and screening pharmaceutical compounds. Their successful utility is accompanied by the high demand for on-
site imaging of the microtissues’ morphology, function, and molecular signatures that allow us to understand
their behaviors and responses. Clearly, to image the 3D microtissues, the imaging technique should ideally
provide volumetric information, together with microscopic resolutions for cellular or even subcellular analyses.
On-chip imaging of intact 3D microtissues within microfluidic devices is however, fundamentally hindered by
intratissue optical scattering. The overall goal of this proposal thus seeks to innovate a methodology, where a
meticulously designed microfluidic bioreactor platform will be developed to enable simultaneous expansion and
clearing of intact microtissues directly on-chip for in situ, super-resolution, and volumetric characterizations,
breaking limits in both imaging depth and optical diffraction with conventional fluorescence microscopy.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9896270
- **Project number:** 1R03EB027984-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Y. Shrike Zhang
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $89,500
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-02-01 → 2021-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9896270

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9896270, On-Chip Expansion Microscopy (1R03EB027984-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9896270. Licensed CC0.

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