Rapid, massively parallel single-cell drug response measurements via live cell interferometry
AssigneeThe Regents of the University of California
InventorsJason C. Reed, Michael A. Teitell
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Abstract
A central question in cancer therapy is how individual cells within a population of tumor cells respond to drugs designed to arrest their growth. However, the absolute growth of cells, their change in physical mass, whether cancerous or physiologic, is difficult to measure directly with traditional techniques. Embodiments of the invention provide live cell interferometry (LCI) for rapid, realtime quantification of cell mass in cells exposed to a changing environment. Overall, LCI provides a conceptual advance for assessing cell populations to identify, monitor, and measure single cell responses, such as to therapeutic drugs.
Claims20
A method for observing a cellular response to an environment comprising:
- (a) placing at least one cell in a first environment;
- (b) observing a mass property of the cell in the first environment using a process comprising live cell interferometry;
- and
- (c) comparing the mass property observed in (b) with the mass property of the cell observed in a second environment using a process comprising live cell interferometry;
- so that the cellular response to the first environment is observed.
A method for observing a mass of a cell, the method comprising:
- (a) placing the cell in an observation chamber of an interference microscope adapted to measure a fractional phase shift between a test beam of light and a reference beam of light;
- (b) exposing the cell to a test beam of light at an illumination wavelength;
- (c) measuring the fractional phase shift between the test beam of light propagating through the cell and the reference beam of light;
- and
- (d) using a measurement obtained in (c) to observe the mass of the cell.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.