Label-free hyperspectral microscopy for scatter imaging of biological processes in cells(Conference Presentation)

We will present unique applications of a label-free, hyperspectral scatter imaging technique in different microscopy platforms including conventional wide-field, dark-field, and confocal. In different platforms, we conducted label-free imaging of cells undergoing biological processes such as nanoparticle uptake, apoptosis, and metabolic flux change in response to the variation of the osmotic pressure. Hyperspectral image analyses resolved spectral endmembers corresponding to unique scattering and absorption characteristics as a result of such processes at the single particle, single organelle, and single cell level, delineating the details of nanomaterial-cell interactions in a 2D cell culture, cell apoptotic characteristics in a 3D culture, and volumetric changes of single cells under the variation of osmotic pressure. Our label-free scatter imaging has the potential for a broad range of biological and biomedical applications such as the development of scatter-based imaging contrast agents and the measurement of scatter parameters of subcellular organelles to identify the sub-micron scale origins of scattering signals in tissue scattering measurements.