IDISNA, Ciberonc and Solid Tumours and Biomarkers Program, Center for Applied Medical Research, University of Navarra, 31008, Pamplona, Spain.
USCAL, S.L. Ingeniería Mecatrónica + Dirección, Pol. Industrial Arazuri-Orcoyen, Calle C - No1, 31160, Orcoyen, Spain.
Sci Rep. 2020 Feb 17;10(1):2779. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-59673-1.
3D cell culture models consisting of self-assembled tumour cells in suspension, commonly known as tumour spheroids, are becoming mainstream for high-throughput anticancer drug screening. A usual measurable outcome of screening studies is the growth rate of the spheroids in response to treatment. This is commonly quantified on images obtained using complex, expensive, optical microscopy systems, equipped with high-quality optics and customized electronics. Here we present a novel, portable, miniaturized microscope made of low-cost, mass-producible parts, which produces both fluorescence and phase-gradient contrast images. Since phase-gradient contrast imaging is based on oblique illumination, epi-illumination is used for both modalities, thus simplifying the design of the system. We describe the system, characterize its performance on synthetic samples and show proof-of-principle applications of the system consisting in imaging and monitoring the formation and growth of lung and pancreas cancer tumour spheroids within custom made microfluidic devices.
3D 细胞培养模型由悬浮自组装的肿瘤细胞组成，通常称为肿瘤球体，正在成为高通量抗癌药物筛选的主流。筛选研究中常用的可衡量结果是球体对治疗的生长速度。这通常是通过使用复杂、昂贵的光学显微镜系统获得的图像进行定量的，这些系统配备了高质量的光学器件和定制的电子器件。在这里，我们展示了一种新颖的、便携式的、由低成本、大规模生产的部件制成的微型显微镜，它可以产生荧光和相梯度对比度图像。由于相梯度对比成像是基于斜照明的，因此两种模式都使用明场照明，从而简化了系统的设计。我们描述了该系统，对其在合成样本上的性能进行了表征，并展示了该系统在定制微流控设备内成像和监测肺癌和胰腺癌肿瘤球体形成和生长的原理验证应用。
