PhotoniX, Volume. 5, Issue 1, 9(2024)

Brillouin microscopy monitors rapid responses in subcellular compartments

Zachary N. Coker1,2, Maria Troyanova-Wood2, Zachary A. Steelman3, Bennett L. Ibey3, Joel N. Bixler3, Marlan O. Scully1,4, and Vladislav V. Yakovlev1,4,5、*
Author Affiliations
  • 1Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University, 4242 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843, USA
  • 2SAIC, Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234, USA
  • 3Air Force Research Laboratory, JBSA Fort Sam Houston, Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234, USA
  • 4Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
  • 5Department of Biomedical Engineering, Texas A&M University, 3120 TAMU, 101 Bizzell Street, College Station, TX 77843, USA
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    Measurements and imaging of the mechanical response of biological cells are critical for understanding the mechanisms of many diseases, and for fundamental studies of energy, signal and force transduction. The recent emergence of Brillouin microscopy as a powerful non-contact, label-free way to non-invasively and non-destructively assess local viscoelastic properties provides an opportunity to expand the scope of biomechanical research to the sub-cellular level. Brillouin spectroscopy has recently been validated through static measurements of cell viscoelastic properties, however, fast (sub-second) measurements of sub-cellular cytomechanical changes have yet to be reported. In this report, we utilize a custom multimodal spectroscopy system to monitor for the very first time the rapid viscoelastic response of cells and subcellular structures to a short-duration electrical impulse. The cytomechanical response of three subcellular structures - cytoplasm, nucleoplasm, and nucleoli - were monitored, showing distinct mechanical changes despite an identical stimulus. Through this pioneering transformative study, we demonstrate the capability of Brillouin spectroscopy to measure rapid, real-time biomechanical changes within distinct subcellular compartments. Our results support the promising future of Brillouin spectroscopy within the broad scope of cellular biomechanics.

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    Zachary N. Coker, Maria Troyanova-Wood, Zachary A. Steelman, Bennett L. Ibey, Joel N. Bixler, Marlan O. Scully, Vladislav V. Yakovlev. Brillouin microscopy monitors rapid responses in subcellular compartments[J]. PhotoniX, 2024, 5(1): 9

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    Paper Information

    Category: Research Articles

    Received: Sep. 8, 2023

    Accepted: Mar. 11, 2024

    Published Online: Jan. 23, 2025

    The Author Email: Yakovlev Vladislav V. (yakovlev@tamu.edu)

    DOI:10.1186/s43074-024-00123-w

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