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Breathing Laser-Spectral Mapping of Cavity-Enhanced Redox Reactions with Subcellular Resolution
Hui Zhu1,2, Guocheng Fang1, Ningyuan Nie1
1School of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Ave., Singapore 639798, Singapore.
ACS Nano
|March 10, 2025
Summary
This study introduces a bioactive laser method for ultrasensitive, real-time monitoring of intracellular redox reactions. This advance allows for detailed metabolic mapping and has broad applications in cell assays and biomedical analysis.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Analytical Chemistry
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Precise monitoring of intracellular redox reactions is crucial for understanding physiological and pathological processes.
- Current technologies face limitations in non-destructive, highly sensitive monitoring of these reactions.
- Resazurin, a cell viability reagent, exhibits suitable lasing properties and photostability for bioactive laser development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an ultrasensitive, real-time method for monitoring intracellular redox reactions using a bioactive laser approach.
- To leverage resazurin's lasing capabilities for enhanced detection sensitivity.
- To demonstrate the application of this method for mapping metabolic heterogeneity and in various cell-based assays.
Main Methods:
- Utilized resazurin as a gain medium in a bioactive laser system for intracellular redox reaction monitoring.
- Exploited the strong light-matter interactions within the laser cavity to amplify subtle changes in resazurin concentration.
- Translated concentration changes into detectable wavelength shifts in the lasing spectrum, achieving high sensing resolution.
- Integrated the laser system with a scanning platform for intracellular and intercellular metabolic mapping.
Main Results:
- Achieved ultrasensitive detection of redox reactions with a sensing resolution down to 30 pM per 10 pm wavelength shift.
- Successfully mapped intracellular and intercellular metabolic heterogeneities.
- Demonstrated the method's applicability in cell identification, oxidative stress assessment, and drug evaluation.
Conclusions:
- The bioactive laser approach offers a novel, highly sensitive, and real-time method for monitoring intracellular redox reactions.
- This technique provides valuable insights for cell assays, biomedical analysis, disease diagnosis, and drug screening.
- The developed method overcomes limitations of current technologies, enabling non-destructive and dynamic observation.
