Ultrasound used to see inside live cells for first time

A new technique for using sound instead of light to see inside live cells has been developed by researchers from the University of Nottingham.

The team applied nanoscale ultrasound technique using shorter-than-optical wavelengths of sound to examine the structure, mechanical properties and behaviour of individual living cells at a scale that was not previously achievable.

Rivalling the optical super-resolution techniques that won the 2014 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, the new method outstrips the results that are possible with conventional light-based optical microscopy, wherein maximum resolutions are limited by wavelengths, as well as a reliance on toxic fluorescent dyes that can prove damaging to cells.

By contrast, sound has no high-energy payload, allowing researchers to use smaller wavelengths and see even more intricate details at higher resolutions without damaging the cell biology.

Professor Matt Clark, who contributed to the study, said: "Like ultrasound on the body, ultrasound in the cells causes no damage and requires no toxic chemicals to work. Because of this, we can see inside cells that one day might be put back into the body – for instance, as stem cell transplants."

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