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Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 295: C538-C544, 2008. First published June 18, 2008; doi:10.1152/ajpcell.00121.2008
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METHODS IN CELL PHYSIOLOGY

Optical imaging of cell mass and growth dynamics

Gabriel Popescu,1 YoungKeun Park,1 Niyom Lue,1 Catherine Best-Popescu,2 Lauren Deflores,1 Ramachandra R. Dasari,1 Michael S. Feld,1 and Kamran Badizadegan1,3

1George R. Harrison Spectroscopy Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge; 2Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston; and 3Department of Pathology and Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts

Submitted 25 February 2008 ; accepted in final form 10 June 2008

Using novel interferometric quantitative phase microscopy methods, we demonstrate that the surface integral of the optical phase associated with live cells is invariant to cell water content. Thus, we provide an entirely noninvasive method to measure the nonaqueous content or "dry mass" of living cells. Given the extremely high stability of the interferometric microscope and the femtogram sensitivity of the method to changes in cellular dry mass, this new technique is not only ideal for quantifying cell growth but also reveals spatially resolved cellular and subcellular dynamics of living cells over many decades in a temporal scale. Specifically, we present quantitative histograms of individual cell mass characterizing the hypertrophic effect of high glucose in a mesangial cell model. In addition, we show that in an epithelial cell model observed for long periods of time, the mean squared displacement data reveal specific information about cellular and subcellular dynamics at various characteristic length and time scales. Overall, this study shows that interferometeric quantitative phase microscopy represents a noninvasive optical assay for monitoring cell growth, characterizing cellular motility, and investigating the subcellular motions of living cells.

phase microscopy; interferometric microscopy; cell growth


Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: K. Badizadegan, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St., WRN219, Boston, MA 02114 (e-mail: kbadizadegan{at}partners.org)






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