[FLASH] 水と同じ屈折率を持つマイクロ流路を用いた超高分解細胞観察

宮地研が関連する研究成果が発表されました。

掲載論文情報

掲載誌：Advanced Materials Technologies

出版日：2025年12月16日付（電子版）

論文名：Femtosecond-Laser-Fabricated 3D CYTOP Microfluidic Chips Enabling Super-Resolution Live Imaging of Cell Behavior in Confined Microspaces

著者名：Koji Sugioka*, Mirai Hanzawa, Kotaro Obata, Sota Matsumoto, Masatoshi Takagi, Asako Sakaue-Sawano, Asako Tosaki, Satoshi Shimozono, Felix Sima, Hiroyuki Kawano, Takuro Tojima, Daisuke Miyashiro, Kazunari Ozasa, Yasutaka Hanada, Godai Miyaji, Akihiko Nakano, Atsushi Miyawaki

DOI　：https://doi.org/10.1002/admt.202501883

概要：Live imaging of cellular dynamics in confined microspaces is crucial for understanding biological processes such as cancer cell invasion, immune response, and neuronal development. However, glass- or polydimethylsiloxane-based microfluidic chips that provide such microspaces suffer from image distortion due to refractive index mismatch with water-based culture media, making high-resolution imaging challenging. To address this problem, we have developed a technique to fabricate 3D microfluidic chips using the fluoropolymer CYTOP with a refractive index (∼1.34) similar to that of water (∼1.33). Our fabrication approach combines two-photon polymerization of SU-8 with mold processing, enabling the creation of defect-free, flexible 3D structures with sub-micrometer precision. The fabricated CYTOP microfluidic chips enabled super-resolution imaging of cancer cells in the microchannels, clearly visualizing the rupture and repair of the nuclear envelope and the progression of proliferation during migration. Such super-resolution imaging ability in microspaces expands opportunities for investigating biological processes beyond cancer cell migration.