PubCard - 3D imaging lipidometry in single cell by in-flow holographic tomography

(Peer-Reviewed) 3D imaging lipidometry in single cell by in-flow holographic tomography

Daniele Pirone ¹ ², Daniele Sirico ¹ ³, Lisa Miccio ¹, Vittorio Bianco ¹, Martina Mugnano ¹, Danila del Giudice ¹ ⁴, Gianandrea Pasquinelli ⁵ ⁶, Sabrina Valente ⁵, Silvia Lemma ⁷ ⁸ ⁹, Luisa Iommarini ⁹ ¹⁰, Ivana Kurelac ⁷ ⁸ ⁹, Pasquale Memmolo ¹, Pietro Ferraro ¹

¹ CNR-ISASI, Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems “E. Caianiello”, Via Campi Flegrei 34, Pozzuoli, Napoli 80078, Italy
² Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, University of Naples “Federico II”, via Claudio 21, Napoli 80125, Italy
³ Department of Chemical, Materials and Production Engineering of the University of Naples Federico II, Piazzale Tecchio 80, Napoli 80125, Italy
⁴ Department of Mathematics and Physics, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Caserta 81100, Italy
⁵ Biotechnology and Methods in Laboratory Medicine, Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), University of Bologna, Bologna 40126, Italy
⁶ Subcellular Nephro-Vascular Diagnostic Program, Pathology Unit S.Orsola IRCCS, University of Bologna, Bologna 40126, Italy
⁷ Unit of Medical Genetics, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (DIMEC), University of Bologna, Via Massarenti 9, Bologna 40138, Italy
⁸ Study and Research Center on Gynecological Neoplasias, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (DIMEC), University of Bologna, Via Massarenti 9, Bologna 40138, Italy
⁹ Center for Applied Biomedical Research (CRBA), University of Bologna, Bologna 40138, Italy
¹⁰ Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FABIT), University of Bologna, Bologna 40126, Italy

Opto-Electronic Advances, 2022-08-25

https://doi.org/10.29026/oea.2023.220048

https://www.oejournal.org/article/doi/10.29026/oea.2023.220048

Abstract

The most recent discoveries in the biochemical field are highlighting the increasingly important role of lipid droplets (LDs) in several regulatory mechanisms in living cells. LDs are dynamic organelles and therefore their complete characterization in terms of number, size, spatial positioning and relative distribution in the cell volume can shed light on the roles played by LDs.

Until now, fluorescence microscopy and transmission electron microscopy are assessed as the gold standard methods for identifying LDs due to their high sensitivity and specificity. However, such methods generally only provide 2D assays and partial measurements. Furthermore, both can be destructive and with low productivity, thus limiting analysis of large cell numbers in a sample.

Here we demonstrate for the first time the capability of 3D visualization and the full LD characterization in high-throughput with a tomographic phase-contrast flow-cytometer, by using ovarian cancer cells and monocyte cell lines as models. A strategy for retrieving significant parameters on spatial correlations and LD 3D positioning inside each cell volume is reported.

The information gathered by this new method could allow more in depth understanding and lead to new discoveries on how LDs are correlated to cellular functions.

3D imaging lipidometry in single cell by in-flow holographic tomography_1

3D imaging lipidometry in single cell by in-flow holographic tomography_2

3D imaging lipidometry in single cell by in-flow holographic tomography_3

3D imaging lipidometry in single cell by in-flow holographic tomography_4

Video-rate wavefront capture and replay via single-shot reference-free measurement: toward holographic telepresence

Minwook Kim, Chansuk Park, Chulmin Oh, KyeoReh Lee, Herve Hugonnet, YongKeun Park

Opto-Electronic Advances

2026-08-25

Luminescent YAG:Ce³⁺ 3D micro-structures via multi-photon laser lithography

Robertas Virkėtis, Greta Merkininkaitė, Artūr Harnik, Ugnė Ūsaitė, Dominykas Dapšys, Arturo Susarrey-Arce, Simas Šakirzanovas, Mangirdas Malinauskas

Opto-Electronic Advances

2026-08-25

A 36 × 240 Gbps hybrid mode/wavelength division multiplexing transmitter using lithium niobate on insulator

Mingyu Zhu, Weihan Wang, Ruitao Ma, Aoyun Gao, Chun Gao, Zexu Wang, Fei Huang, Zhenyuan Bao, Dajian Liu, Jiaxuan Gan, Zejie Yu, Huan Li, Weike Zhao, Daoxin Dai

Opto-Electronic Advances

2026-08-25

Scalable spatiotemporal interleaving network for high-density integrated photonic convolution

Hudi Liu, Jingchi Li, Hua Zhong, Yu He, Yikai Su

Opto-Electronic Science

2026-07-24

From non-resonant to resonant meta-devices: imaging, color routing, displaying, and beyond

Weihan Liu, Yao Liang, Borui Leng, Shufan Chen, Peng-Yi Feng, Din Ping Tsai

Opto-Electronic Science

2026-07-24

Light-perception-based interactive control of an underwater digital twin hand

Jinlong Lu, Chao Zhang, Hengchang Nong, Dongying Wang, Hongyu Zhou, Junjie Weng, Yuehua Deng, Yang Yu, Qiang Bian, Jianfa Zhang, Chaofan Zhang, Zhenrong Zhang, Junbo Yang

Opto-Electronic Advances

2026-07-10

Digital twin optical computing system

Run Sun, Yuemin Li, Tingzhao Fu, Wencan Liu, Sigang Yang, Hongwei Chen

Opto-Electronic Advances

2026-07-10

Unlocking home-based nocturnal health management: A fiber-optic approach for early detection of cardiorespiratory rhythm disorders

Hanyu Jin, Hao Li, Zhuolin Chen, Liangye Li, Zurui Wang, Kai Zhou, Weijian Hang, Zhipeng Chen, Junfeng Chen, Kai Shen, Jianfeng Wen, Chen Chen, Cunzheng Fan, Zhijun Yan, Feng Wang, Qizhen Sun

Opto-Electronic Advances

2026-07-10

A flexible wireless system for prospective photodynamic therapy applications

Rolan Mansour, Bhavani Yalagala, Vikas Vikas, Nikolas Bruce, Fawziye Tarhini, Georgios N. Arvanitakis, Mohammed Mughal, Jamie Blanche, Ahmad Taha, Jonathan Copper, Muhammad Imran, Karin Williams, Karin Oien, Mahmoud Wagih, Hadi Heidari, Robert Hadfield, David Flynn

Opto-Electronic Advances

2026-07-10

Parallel bright-field and multi-order edge imaging via wide field-of-view trichannel metalens

Xiaotong Li, Yeseul Kim, Youngsun Jeon, Junhwa Seong, Jaekyung Kim, Peng Tang, Shiqi Hu, Harit Keawmuang, Beomha Yang, Dongmin Jeon, Le Dai, Weiyan Li, Xiaodong Cai, Jinhui Shi, Yong-Sang Ryu, Trevon Badloe, Junsuk Rho

Opto-Electronic Advances

2026-07-10

Cavity-assisted nonlocal metasurfaces for momentum-space broadband-operational optical vortice generation with maximum efficiency approaching 80%

Keren Wang, Kaili Sun, Jing Du, Peijuan Dai, Hao Zhou, Lujun Huang, Zhanghua Han, Wei Wang

Opto-Electronic Advances

2026-07-10

Instantaneous UAV tracking using single-photon LiDAR via photon-event-driven suppression of temporal-averaging bias

Dongfang Guo, Jianfeng Sun, Xin Zhou, Chen Shen, Sheng Chen, Sining Li, Yanchen Qu

Opto-Electronic Technology

2026-06-28

Learning-based joint UAV trajectory and power allocation optimization for secure IoT networks Carnivorous plants inspired shape-morphing slippery surfaces