Capturing the contours of live cells with novel nanoimaging technique using graphene

With each passing day, human know-how turns into extra refined and we develop into barely higher outfitted to look deeper into organic processes and molecular and mobile buildings, thereby gaining better understanding of mechanisms underlying illnesses reminiscent of most cancers, Alzheimer’s, and others.

As we speak, nanoimaging, one such cutting-edge know-how, is extensively used to structurally characterize subcellular parts and mobile molecules reminiscent of ldl cholesterol and fatty acids. However it isn’t with out its limitations, as Professor Dae Gained Moon of Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Know-how (DGIST), Korea, lead scientist in a current groundbreaking research advancing the sphere, explains: “Most superior nanoimaging strategies use accelerated electron or ion beams in ultra-high-vacuum environments. To introduce cells into such an surroundings, one should chemically repair and bodily freeze or dry them. However such processes deteriorate the cells’ unique molecular composition and distribution.”

Prof. Moon and his group needed to discover a solution to keep away from this deterioration. “We needed to use superior nanoimaging strategies in ultra-high-vacuum environments to dwelling cells in answer with none chemical and bodily therapy, not even fluorescence staining, to acquire intrinsic biomolecular info that’s unimaginable to acquire utilizing typical bioimaging strategies,” Dr. Heejin Lim, a key member of the analysis group, explains. Their novel answer is printed in Nature Strategies.

Their approach entails inserting moist cells on a collagen-coated moist substrate with microholes, which in flip is on prime of a cell tradition medium reservoir. The cells are then coated with a single layer of graphene. It’s the graphene that’s anticipated to guard the cells from desiccation and cell membranes from degradation.

Via optical microscopy, the scientists confirmed that, when ready this fashion, the cells stay viable and alive as much as ten minutes after inserting in an ultra-high-vacuum surroundings. The scientists additionally carried out nanoimaging, particularly, secondary ion mass spectrometry imaging, on this surroundings for as much as 30 minutes. The photographs they captured inside the first ten minutes paint a extremely detailed (submicrometer) image of the true intrinsic distribution of lipids of their native states within the cell membranes; for this period, the membranes underwent no important distortion.

With this methodology too, nonetheless, a cascade of ion beam collisions at a degree on the graphene movie can create a large enough gap for a few of the lipid particles to flee. However whereas this degradation to the cell membrane does happen, it isn’t important inside the ten-minute window and there’s no answer leakage. Additional, the graphene molecules react with water molecules to self-repair. So, general, this can be a nice solution to find out about cell membrane molecules of their native state in excessive decision.

“I think about that our revolutionary approach will be extensively utilized by many biomedical imaging laboratories for extra dependable bioanalyses of cells and finally for overcoming advanced illnesses,” says Prof. Moon.

Will this innovation develop into the norm? Solely time will inform!

###

Reference

Authors: Heejin Lim¬1, Solar Younger Lee1, Yereum Park2, Hyeonggyu Jin3, Daeha Seo3, Yun Hee Jang2 and Dae Gained Moon1,4

Title of unique paper: Mass spectrometry imaging of untreated moist cell membranes in answer utilizing single-layer graphene

Journal: Nature Strategies

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-020-01055-6

Affiliations: 1Department of New Biology, DGIST, Daegu, Republic of Korea

2Department of Vitality Science and Engineering, DGIST, Daegu, Republic of Korea

3Department of Rising Supplies Science, DGIST, Daegu, Republic of Korea

4School of Undergraduate Research, DGIST, Daegu, Republic of Korea

*Corresponding creator’s e-mail: dwmoon@dgist.ac.kr

About Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Know-how (DGIST)

Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Know-how (DGIST) is a widely known and revered analysis institute positioned in Daegu, Republic of Korea. Established in 2004 by the Korean Authorities, the primary goal of DGIST is to advertise nationwide science and know-how, in addition to to spice up the native economic system.

With a imaginative and prescient of “Altering the world by way of convergence”, DGIST has undertaken a variety of analysis in numerous fields of science and know-how. DGIST has embraced a multidisciplinary method to analysis and undertaken intensive research in a few of right this moment’s most significant fields. DGIST additionally has state-of-the-art-infrastructure to allow cutting-edge analysis in supplies science, robotics, cognitive sciences, and communication engineering.

Web site: https://www.dgist.ac.kr/en/html/sub01/010204.html

Concerning the authors

Dr. Dae Gained Moon is Professor on the Division of New Biology and is affiliated to the NanoBio Imaging Laboratory at DGIST. He started his profession with a PhD in Chemistry from Pennsylvania State College, USA, in 1984, and is now on the editorial board of the journal Important Critiques in Stable State and Supplies Science. His analysis pursuits embrace coherent Raman scattering, floor plasmon resonance imaging ellipsometry, imaging mass spectrometry, and time-of-flight medium vitality ion scattering. For his distinctive contribution to the sphere, together with over 180 publications, he has received a number of awards in Korea.