Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Photo-activated localization microscopy (PALM) has been a game-changer, breaking the diffraction limit in spatial resolution. This study presents the Deactivation Super Resolution (DSR) method, which utilises the deactivation of genetically encodable contrast agents, enabling us to super-resolve and pinpoint individual cells with ultrasound as they navigate through structures which cannot be resolved by conventional B-Mode imaging. DSR takes advantage of Gas Vesicles (GVs), which are air-filled sub-micron particles that have been expressed in genetically engineered bacterial and mammalian cells to produce acoustic contrast. Our experimental results show that DSR can distinguish sub-wavelength microstructures that standard B-mode ultrasound images fail to resolve by super-localising individual mammalian cells. This study provides a proof of concept for the potential of DSR to serve as a super-resolution ultrasound technique for individual cell localisation, opening new horizons in the field.
Source: npj Acoustics
Authors: Cameron A. B. Smith, Mengtong Duan, Jipeng Yan, Laura Taylor, Mikhail Shapiro, Meng-Xing Tang
Language: English
Subfield: Biomedical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,490
Funders: Human Frontier Science Program, Wellcome Trust, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Imperial College London, National Institutes of Health, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Awards: Ultrasonic Genetically Encoded Calcium Indicators for Whole-Brain Neuroimaging, G2844029826, Detection of metastatic axillary sentinel lymph nodes using ultrafast, super-resolution, dual-contrast enhanced ultrasound imaging in patients with breast cancer, G5201493482, Dynamic 3D super-resolution ultrasound imaging of micro-circulation and genetically encoded acoustic reporters in vivo, Microvascular blood flow and metabolic networking in the gut-pancreas-liver axis, Biogenic Gas Nanostructures as Molecular Imaging Reporters for Ultrasound
OpenAlex ID: W4409760259