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Updated: Dec 17, 2025
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Highly-Multiplexed Tissue Imaging with Raman Dyes
Published on: April 21, 2022
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Multiplex fatty acid imaging inside cells by Raman microscopy
Masaaki Uematsu1,2, Yoshihiro Kita1,2,3, Takao Shimizu1,2,4
1Department of Lipid Signaling, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Summary
Researchers developed a new method to visualize five types of intracellular fatty acids simultaneously using Raman spectroscopy. This technique reveals how fatty acids with more double bonds concentrate in lipid droplets, advancing cell metabolism studies.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Biochemistry
- Spectroscopy
Background:
- Visualizing intracellular fatty acids is crucial for understanding cellular metabolism.
- Existing imaging techniques struggle to label and track multiple fatty acids without altering their properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel method for simultaneously visualizing up to five distinct intracellular fatty acid species.
- To overcome limitations in tracking small, biologically active molecules within cells.
Main Methods:
- Utilized atomically labeled fatty acids with distinct Raman spectra based on labeling patterns.
- Developed extensible open-source software for by-pixel analysis of mixed spectra.
- Applied multiplex imaging to visualize multiple fatty acid species concurrently.
Main Results:
- Successfully visualized up to five different intracellular fatty acid species simultaneously.
- Demonstrated that fatty acids with a higher degree of unsaturation (more double bonds) preferentially accumulate in lipid droplets.
- The method allows for the spatial mapping of fatty acid dynamics within cells.
Conclusions:
- The novel multiplex imaging approach enables detailed study of intracellular fatty acid spatial dynamics.
- This technique can be extended to visualize other metabolites, offering broad applications in cell biology.
- Advances the understanding of lipid metabolism and cellular storage mechanisms.
