Human oral mucosa tissue-engineered constructs monitored by Raman fiber-optic probe.

In maxillofacial and oral surgery, there is a need for the development of tissue-engineered constructs. They are used for reconstructions due to trauma, dental implants, congenital defects, or oral cancer. A noninvasive monitoring of the fabrication of tissue-engineered constructs at the production and implantation stages done in real time is extremely important for predicting the success of tissue-engineered grafts. We demonstrated a Raman spectroscopic probe system, its design and application, for real-time ex vivo produced oral mucosa equivalent (EVPOME) constructs noninvasive monitoring. We performed in vivo studies to find Raman spectroscopic indicators for postimplanted EVPOME failure and determined that Raman spectra of EVPOMEs preexposed to thermal stress during manufacturing procedures displayed correlation of the band height ratio of CH2 deformation to phenylalanine ring breathing modes, giving a Raman metric to distinguish between healthy and compromised postimplanted constructs. This study is the step toward our ultimate goal to develop a stand-alone system, to be used in a clinical setting, where the data collection and analysis are conducted on the basis of these spectroscopic indicators with minimal user intervention.