Spectral and 3-Dimensional Tracking of Single Gold Nanoparticles in Living Cells Studied by Rayleigh Light Scattering Microscopy

Abstract

Using a confocal Rayleigh light scattering microspectroscopy and imaging system, we followed and recorded the scattering spectra of single gold nanoparticles interacting with living mouse fibroblast cells, during the scale of 1 h. A white light continuum produced by a femtosecond laser was focused on gold nanoparticles with a diameter of 80 nm, while an incubation system ensured viability of the living cells. After reporting spectral characteristics of gold nanoparticles and their target fibroblasts, separately and in combination, tracking sequences of single nanoparticles in contact with a single cell are described. Through the study of three separate and representative cases, transitory as well as plasmon resonance band shifts, which can be linked to biological events, have been observed and are discussed here.

Single Cell Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy

“…429 The system uses a tunable laser and filters to provide homogeneous illumination across the visible spectrum. Furthermore, the instrument provides sufficient time resolution for monitoring plasmon shifts as nanoparticles interact with cellular features.…”

Probing molecular cell event dynamics at the single-cell level with targeted plasmonic gold nanoparticles: A review

“…Scattered light comprised of different wavelengths is collected in the objective and dispersed by the grating within the spectrometer to a cooled detector. Using Rayleigh light scattering for optical detection, spatial resolutions are restricted by the diffraction barrier with lateral and axial resolutions of 300 nm and 800 nm, respectively [73]. Additionally, microsecond temporal resolution with 1-2 nm spatial precision/localization has been achieved [74,75].…”

Nanoparticle-based technologies for retinal gene therapy

“…Furthermore, intravenously-administered gold NPs (20 nm in diameter) that entered the retina by crossing the blood-retina-barrier also did not induce retina toxicity in mice [89]. An important advantage of gold (and metal) NPs is their optical properties that allow them to be detected using various imaging techniques including dark-field microscopy [90], Rayleigh light scattering microscopy [91], photothermal microscopy [92], plasmon resonance coupling [93], and surface Raman scattering [94]. Furthermore, gold and metal NPs possess a high electron density and can therefore be visualized under a transmission electron microscope, revealing key information about the cell’s NP uptake efficiency and the subcellular location of the NPs [88, 95].…”