Adaptive optics stimulated Raman scattering microscopy for topical product pharmacokinetic tomography (Conference Presentation)

Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy is an ideal tool for quantifying cutaneous drug pharmacokinetics after topical drug application; however, SRS imaging is often limited by skin depth, due to scattering and laser focus distortion, which reduce SRS signal. Adaptive optics (AO) can improve wavefront shape and laser focus, mitigating imaging depth limitations. In this study, we used AO to improve SRS imaging in tissue by optimizing deformable membrane mirror shapes for SRS signal collection. AO SRS images had markedly improved SRS intensity and contrast compared to non-AO SRS images in tissue at the same depth, and mirror shapes optimized at greater imaging depths enabled increased SRS signal collection. We demonstrate that AO SRS is a valuable tool for cutaneous pharmacokinetic imaging in deeper skin structures by quantitatively visualizing ruxolitinib uptake in ex vivo human skin.