For the first time, researchers at MIT can see every vibration of a cell membrane, using a technique that could one day allow scientists to create three-dimensional images of the inner workings of living cells.
Studying cell membrane dynamics can help scientists gain insight into diseases such as sickle cell anemia, malaria and cancer. Using a technique known as quantitative phase imaging, researchers at MIT's George R. Harrison Spectroscopy Laboratory can see cell membrane vibrations as tiny as a few tens of nanometers (billionths of a meter).
But cell membrane dynamics are just the beginning.
Soon, the researchers hope to extend their view beyond the cell membrane into the cell, to create images of what is happening inside living cells -- including how cells communicate with each other and what causes them to become cancerous.
"One of our goals is create 3D tomographic images of the internal structure of a cell," said Michael Feld, MIT professor of physics and director of the Spectroscopy Lab. "The beauty is that with this technique, you can study dynamical processes in living cells in real time."
Scientists have long been able to peer into cells using electron microscopy, which offers a much higher magnification than a traditional light microscope. However, electron microscopy can only be used on cells that are dehydrated, frozen or treated in other ways. Thus it cannot be used to view living cells.
Quantitative phase imaging, on the other hand, allows researchers to observe living cells for as long a time period as they want. After years of fine tuning, the MIT researchers can now create images with a resolution of 0.2 nanometers. (A red blood cell has a diameter of about 8 microns, or 8,000 nanometers.)
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