# Development of stimulated Brillouin microscopy for high-resolution stiffness measurement

> **NIH NIH R01** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2020 · $457,978

## Abstract

Abstract
Cells inside tissues and biomaterials receive mechanical cues that affect the cells’ morphology and function.
These phenotype changes in turn can remodel the extracellular environment. To understand this intricate
interaction, it is fundamentally necessary to measure the mechanical properties of both intracellular and
extracellular space in situ. However, this measurement is very difficult by the lack of suitable tools. The goal
of this project is to develop novel optical tools based on stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) for measuring
and mapping stiffness with 3D resolution. The first specific aim is to develop a longitudinal-wave SBS
microscope system using a pulsed scheme to achieve sub-millisecond data acquisition speed, 1000-fold
improved over spontaneous Brillouin microscopy. The second specific aim is to develop a shear-wave SBS
microscope system. Using the coherent nature of SBS, this new modality may measure shear modulus in a
broad range from 100 Pa to 1 MPa with subcellular resolution. The third specific aim is to combine the two
systems with a common sample stage allowing both longitudinal and shear moduli to be measured from each
microscopic volume. The combined microscope will provide unprecedented label-free, high-resolution access
to the full compliance or stiffness tensors of cells, tissues, and hydrogels. The successful development of
SBS microscopy will have a major impact on many areas that require mechanical characterization of
biomaterials, cells, organoids, tissue slices, and small living organisms at high spatial resolution.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9938589
- **Project number:** 5R01EB027653-02
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Seok-Hyun Andy Yun
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $457,978
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-06-01 → 2024-02-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9938589

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9938589, Development of stimulated Brillouin microscopy for high-resolution stiffness measurement (5R01EB027653-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9938589. Licensed CC0.

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