Quantitative Chemical Imaging of the Intracellular Spatial Distribution of Fundamental Elements and Light Metals in Single Cells

We report a method that allows a complete quantitative characterization of whole single cells, assessing the total amount of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, sodium, and magnesium and providing submicrometer maps of element molar concentration, cell density, mass, and volume. This approach allows quantifyi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Analytical chemistry (Washington) 2014-05, Vol.86 (10), p.5108-5115
Main Authors: Malucelli, Emil, Iotti, Stefano, Gianoncelli, Alessandra, Fratini, Michela, Merolle, Lucia, Notargiacomo, Andrea, Marraccini, Chiara, Sargenti, Azzurra, Cappadone, Concettina, Farruggia, Giovanna, Bukreeva, Inna, Lombardo, Marco, Trombini, Claudio, Maier, Jeanette A, Lagomarsino, Stefano
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analytical chemistry
Carbon
Cell Line, Tumor
Cell Nucleus - drug effects
Cell Nucleus - metabolism
Cells
Cells - chemistry
Cells - metabolism
Colon
Concentration (composition)
Density
Drug Resistance, Neoplasm
Elements
Fusion
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Magnesium
Metals
Metals, Light - chemistry
Metals, Light - metabolism
Microscopy
Microscopy, Atomic Force
Radiation
Sodium
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Summary:We report a method that allows a complete quantitative characterization of whole single cells, assessing the total amount of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, sodium, and magnesium and providing submicrometer maps of element molar concentration, cell density, mass, and volume. This approach allows quantifying elements down to 106 atoms/μm3. This result was obtained by applying a multimodal fusion approach that combines synchrotron radiation microscopy techniques with off-line atomic force microscopy. The method proposed permits us to find the element concentration in addition to the mass fraction and provides a deeper and more complete knowledge of cell composition. We performed measurements on LoVo human colon cancer cells sensitive (LoVo-S) and resistant (LoVo-R) to doxorubicin. The comparison of LoVo-S and LoVo-R revealed different patterns in the maps of Mg concentration with higher values within the nucleus in LoVo-R and in the perinuclear region in LoVo-S cells. This feature was not so evident for the other elements, suggesting that Mg compartmentalization could be a significant trait of the drug-resistant cells.
ISSN:0003-2700
1520-6882
DOI:10.1021/ac5008909