Fluorescence-lifetime optical electrophysiology in contracting cardiomyocytes
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Precise monitoring of cardiac electrophysiology in vitro is crucial to understanding heart function and cardiac disease. However, high-throughput, contact-free methods for directly measuring excitation-contraction coupling remain limited. Here, we introduce a new paradigm for quantitative electrophysiological imaging that combines fluorescence lifetime and intensity information to capture dynamic cardiac signals with high fidelity. We show that lifetime measurements are intrinsically decoupled from motion artifacts and provide calibrated calcium concentration and membrane potential readouts across wide fields of view. Using a gated single-photon avalanche diode camera, we acquire fluorescence lifetime images at up to 200 frames per second with sufficient signal-to-noise ratio such that each frame contains meaningful lifetime information without temporal averaging. This approach yields spatially resolved maps of absolute voltage and calcium values across contracting cardiomyocyte monolayers, revealing heterogeneous cell behaviors within individual assays and uncovering previously unreported dynamics during late-phase repolarization for real-time analysis of excitation-contraction coupling.
Language: English
Subfield: Biophysics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: Whole-heart correlative imaging in a mouse model of myocardial infarction, QuantIC - The UK Quantum Technology Hub in Quantum Imaging, Superkritinio Kampo Fluorescencijos Gyvavimo Trukmės Vaizdinimo Mikroskopija su Hon-Ou-Mandel efektu ultra-trumpų gyvavimo trukmių matavimui ir fotonų statistikos nustatymui, UK Quantum Technology Hub in Sensing, Imaging and Timing (QuSIT), Boson Sampling and Quantum Imaging for Complex Biological Systems, QUANTUM-ENABLED MEMBRANE POTENTIAL IMAGING OF DOE-RELEVANT BACTERIAL COMMUNITIES, Cardiac electrophysiology through 3-Photon Optical technology, Novel platform technology: chronic myocardial infarction in rabbits to evaluate next generation therapeutics
OpenAlex ID: W7123948271