title: Significant correlation between refractive index and activity of mitochondria: single mitochondrion study.
abstract: Measurements of refractive indices (RIs) of intracellular components can provide useful information on the structure and function of cells. The present study reports, for the first time, determination of the RI of an isolated mitochondrion in isotonic solution using retardation-modulated differential interference contrast microscopy. The value was 1.41 ± 0.01, indicating that mitochondria are densely packed with molecules having high RIs. Further, the RIs of each mitochondrion were significantly correlated with the mitochondrial membrane potential, an index of mitochondrial activity. These results will provide useful information on the structures and functions of cells based on the intracellular distribution of RIs.
authors: Division of Biotechnology and Life Sciences, Institute of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Nakacho 2-24-16, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan.
authors: Keisuke
authors: K
authors: Haseda
authors: Division of Biotechnology and Life Sciences, Institute of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Nakacho 2-24-16, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan.
authors: Keita
authors: K
authors: Kanematsu
authors: Instrumentation Analysis Center, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Nakacho 2-24-16, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan.
authors: Keiichi
authors: K
authors: Noguchi
authors: Division of Organic and Polymer Materials Chemistry, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Nakacho, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan.
authors: Hiromu
authors: H
authors: Saito
authors: Division of Mechanical Systems Engineering, Institute of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Nakacho 2-24-16, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan.
authors: Norihiro
authors: N
authors: Umeda
authors: Division of Biotechnology and Life Sciences, Institute of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Nakacho 2-24-16, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan.
authors: Yoshihiro
authors: Y
authors: Ohta
keywords: (000.1430) Biology and medicine; (170.2655) Functional monitoring and imaging