Multimodal on-chip nanoscopy and quantitative phase imaging reveals the nanoscale morphology of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells

Visualization of three-dimensional (3D) morphological changes in the subcellular structures of a biological specimen is a major challenge in life science. Here, we present an integrated chip-based optical nanoscopy combined with quantitative phase microscopy (QPM) to obtain 3D morphology of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSEC). LSEC have unique morphology with small nanopores (50-300 nm in diameter) in the plasma membrane, called fenestrations. The fenestrations are grouped in discrete clusters, which are around 100 to 200 nm thick. Thus, imaging and quantification of fenestrations and sieve plate thickness require resolution and sensitivity of sub-100 nm along both the lateral and the axial directions, respectively. In chip-based nanoscopy, the optical waveguides are used both for hosting and illuminating the sample. The fluorescence signal is captured by an upright microscope, which is converted into a Linnik-type interferometer to sequentially acquire both superresolved images and phase information of the sample. The multimodal microscope provided an estimate of the fenestration diameter of 119 +/- 53 nm and average thickness of the sieve plates of 136.6 +/- 42.4 nm, assuming the constant refractive index of cell membrane to be 1.38. Further, LSEC were treated with cytochalasin B to demonstrate the possibility of precise detection in the cell height. The mean phase value of the fenestrated area in normal and treated cells was found to be 161 +/- 50 mrad and 109 +/- 49 mrad, respectively. The proposed multimodal technique offers nanoscale visualization of both the lateral size and the thickness map, which would be of broader interest in the fields of cell biology and bioimaging.

Automated summary

This study presents an integrated chip-based optical nanoscopy combined with quantitative phase microscopy for obtaining 3D morphology of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSEC). The multimodal microscope offers nanoscale visualization of both the lateral size and the thickness map of subcellular structures, providing estimates for fenestration diameter and sieve plate thickness. Treatment with cytochalasin B demonstrated the potential for precise detection of cell height, showcasing the versatility and precision of the proposed technique in bioimaging.