Label-Free Liposome & Exosome Hyperspectral Microscopy

A specific example of the CytoViva system being used for this application is shown in the images above. In this example, a prostate cancer-specific peptide is added to a doxorubicin-loaded liposome. With the CytoViva Enhanced Darkfield Hyperspectral Microscope system, the researcher is able to create a reference spectral library (figure 1) unique to the doxorubicin-loaded liposome (figure 2). Note that the reference spectra illustrated in figure 1 has a very distinct peak at ~575nm that is consistent with the spectral properties of doxorubicin. Figure 3 shows a label-free tumor cell that has been incubated with the liposome construct. The red pixels in figure 4 demonstrate the spectral mapping of the reference spectrum confirming the presence and location of the liposomal construct within the tumor cell.

A key benefit of the CytoViva system is that it does not require fluorescent labeling or other alteration of the cell structure or the liposomes for effective imaging and analysis. Additionally, these samples can be imaged as live cells using the SynVivo for CytoViva live-cell microfluidics chamber. With this system, the nano-drug delivery construct can be added to the live cell culture and images can be captured over time, recording the dynamic interaction. This system can also be used as a "simulated in-vivo" system for observing nanoparticle fate in the biological environment.

With the ability to provide both high-resolution spatial imaging and spectral characterization, CytoViva's Enhanced Darkfield Hyperspectral Microscope system can significantly impact your nano-drug delivery development work. Please contact us at info@schaefer-tec.it to learn more about the technique or to discuss test imaging of your samples.