MISiS, Moscow State University and VNIIOFI: Cell tomography technology

2023: Creation of non-invasive cytoplasm mapping technology

The cell tomography technology was proposed by a team of researchers from NUST MISIS, Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov and VNIIOFI. It will overcome the limitations of phase and absorption microscopy methods, which analyze only a single cell of the correct shape. In the future, using a local tomograph, it is planned to study the subcellular structures and cytoplasm during the functioning of the neuron, which will bring scientists closer to understanding how the human brain works, representatives of NUST MISISiS told Zdrav.Expert on March 9, 2023.

According to them, the team of scientists has already assembled a prototype tomograph from the Russian components, with the help of which the first images of neurons have already been obtained. As the researchers noted, the intracellular processes of the neuron were estimated at a fairly high speed - about 100 cell projections were obtained in 1 minute.

Russian scientists have created cell tomography technology that will speed up the process of detecting diseases

Observing changes in various areas of a living cell under physiological and simulated conditions has a number of limitations. The living cell is transparent, so it is extremely difficult to notice dynamic fluctuations in the membrane and protein density in it. To study cells, staining or introduction of markers is necessary, but in this case the cell will change its state and the results will be distorted.

Moreover, the actively developing tomographic direction of phase and absorption microscopy (studies of the structure and chemical nature of living cells using high contrast images) are limited to analyzing a single cell of the correct shape. Probing and algorithms from traditional computed tomography also prevent more complex shapes from being captured. Therefore, the current research and biomedical task is to create new approaches in laboratory diagnostics, allowing to study local dynamic processes in living cells of various forms, explained in NUST MISIS.

Tatyana Marakutsa, a master's student at MISIS University, together with scientists from Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov and VNIIOFI developed a project to create a technology for non-invasive mapping of the cytoplasm - local tomography. It allows you to consider a transparent cell as a phase object that can be measured by interference methods and obtain quantitative information about the volume distribution of the cell's refractive index and its morphology by recording the values ​ ​ of the optical difference in the path of the rays.

Prototype tomograph, created entirely from Russian components

According to the researchers, the result of the project will be a methodology for obtaining subcellular images and cell diagnostics. Images from a local tomograph can be used to study native, that is, cells that are not damaged during the study. In the future, such methods can be used in biotechnology and biomedicine for the subsequent stimulation of neurons, and, therefore, the restoration of neural connections, as well as for the cultivation and control of the state of native cells, which will significantly simplify and speed up the process of detecting diseases in the early stages, scientists are convinced.

"This project correlates well with the advanced trends of the scientific and technical world, namely, with the process of recreating a neural network based on the neurons of the human body, because it can potentially provide valuable information about the structure of the neuron and not only. It is also worth noting that the project is entirely based on Russian components, and the quality of the images created is not inferior to foreign counterparts. Moreover, it can serve as an impetus for the development of the production of related components in the country, "said Tatyana Marakutsa.

In 2023, during the implementation of the project, scientists will develop a program for assessing images of cells (neurons) and a methodology for obtaining subcellular images. The researchers intend to prove the possibility of assessing subcellular structures and cytoplasm during the functioning of the neuron - this will allow us to come closer to understanding how the human brain and neural connections in particular work.