An electrochemical surface plasmon resonance imaging system targeting cell analysis

Area of Science:

• Biophysical techniques
• Cellular imaging
• Electrochemical analysis

Background:

• Characterizing cellular optical and electrical properties simultaneously is challenging.
• Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) imaging offers high sensitivity for refractive index (RI) measurements.
• Electrochemical methods provide insights into cellular electrical activity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and demonstrate an integrated electrochemical-surface plasmon resonance imaging (EC-SPRI) system.
• To simultaneously measure optical (RI) and electrical properties of biological samples.
• To investigate cellular changes during cell death using the EC-SPRI system.

Main Methods:

• Development of a novel EC-SPRI system combining SPR imaging and electrochemical measurements.
• Characterization of microcavities and glycerol solutions with varying RIs using SPR imaging.
• Imaging of A549 cells to monitor RI and morphology changes.
• Simultaneous electrochemical recording of oxidation peaks and SPR response during cell death.

Main Results:

• The EC-SPRI system demonstrated capability in imaging microcavities (10 μm × 10 μm) and differentiating glycerol solutions.
• RI and morphology changes in A549 cells during cell death were successfully imaged.
• Simultaneous electrochemical and SPR data revealed correlations between oxidation peaks and SPR response unit increases.

Conclusions:

• The developed EC-SPRI system provides a powerful tool for simultaneous characterization of cellular optical and electrical properties.
• This integrated approach allows for real-time monitoring of cellular responses, such as during cell death.
• EC-SPRI opens new avenues for understanding complex cellular processes through multi-modal analysis.