title: Sensing dynamic cytoplasm refractive index changes of adherent cells with quantitative phase microscopy using incorporated microspheres as optical probes.
abstract: The intracellular refractive index is an important parameter that describes the optical density of the cytoplasm and the concentration of the intracellular solutes. The refractive index of adherently grown cells is difficult to access. We present a method in which silica microspheres in living cells are used to determine the cytoplasm refractive index with quantitative phase microscopy. The reliability of our approach for refractive index retrieval is shown by data from a comparative study on osmotically stimulated adherent and suspended human pancreatic tumor cells. Results from adherent human fibro sarcoma cells demonstrate the capability of the method for sensing of dynamic refractive index changes and its usage with microfluidics.
authors.affiliation: University of Muenster, Center for Biomedical Optics and Photonics, Robert-Koch-Str. 45, D-48149 Muenster, Germany.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Przibilla
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dartmann
authors.forename: Angelika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vollmer
authors.forename: Steffi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ketelhut
authors.forename: Burkhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Greve
authors.forename: Gert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: von Bally
authors.forename: Björn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kemper
mesh_terms: D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D003287:Contrast Media; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D006801:Humans; D008858:Microscopy, Phase-Contrast / Q000379:methods*; D008863:Microspheres; D015335:Molecular Probes / Q000737:chemistry; D012031:Refractometry / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D015335:Molecular Probes