Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/49936
+++++++++++++++++++++++++ + + +++++++++++++++++++++++++ IMAGING SPOTLIGHT +++ +++ The iPad of Cell Imaging RESEARCHERS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS ARE SHEDDING NEW LIGHT ON THE CELL GROWTH DEBATE. ITS NEW IMAGING METHOD COULD SOON BE HELPING RESEARCHERS AROUND THE GLOBE GO DEEPER IN THEIR CELLULAR STUDIES. developed a new imaging method that can measure cell mass using two beams of light. This new imaging method, called spatial light interference microscopy (SLIM), can quantitatively measure mass with femtogram accuracy. The SLIM technique cannot only measure the growth of a T single cell, but also the mass transport within the cell. This measuring capability can be used on all types of cells, including adherent cells, nonadherent cells, bacteria, mammalian cells, single cells and populations. SLIM is completely noninvasive so researchers can study cells in their natural functions, and the combination of phase- contrast microscopy and holography allows researchers to view HE RESEARCH TEAM, led by Gabriel Popescu, an electrical and computer engineering professor and a member of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois, cells without the need to make special preparations or stain slides. The use of white light can be combined with traditional microscopy techniques to monitor cells, a combination that allows for indepth biological studies. New Knowledge of Cell Growth The sensitivity of the SLIM technique allows researchers to see a clearer picture of cells' growth through phases of the cell cycle. This new advantage will be benefi cial for basic biology research, diagnostics, drug development and tissue engineering. This new insight to cell growth will be applicable to many types of disease models and may allow researchers a deeper understanding of those models. Researchers also hope this will help accelerate the study of growth variations between normal cells and cancer cells and how different treatments affect the growth rates. Popescu compared the capabilities of use with the SLIM technique to that of the iPad. The SLIM technique is hardware that has a number of applications, which can benefi t many different labs in their research. He hopes to establish SLIM as a shared resource on the University of Illinois campus, which will make it more fl exible and accessible for clinical research in many areas. s 10 | Greater Kansas MD NEWS n MDNEWS.COM