Light is used to analyze immune cells

ROCHESTER, N.Y., April 2 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they have developed an optical technique that enables rapid analysis of single human immune cells using only light.

University of Rochester researchers said the technique will provide immunologists and other cellular researchers the ability to observe responses of individual cells to various stimuli, rather than relying on aggregate statistical data from large cell populations. Until now scientists haven't had a non-invasive way to see how human cells, such as T cells or cancer cells, activate individually and evolve over time.

Associate Professor Andrew Berger, who led the study, and graduate student Zachary Smith said the achievement marks the first time clear differences between two types of immune cells have been seen using a microscopy system that gathers chemical and structural information by combining Raman and angular-scattering microscopy into a single system, which they call IRAM.

"Conceptually it's pretty straightforward -- you shine a specified wavelength of light onto your sample and you get back a large number of peaks spread out like a rainbow," said Berger. "The peaks tell you how the molecules you're studying vibrate and together the vibrations give you the chemical information."

The process is detailed in a special biomedical issue of the journal Applied Optics.