Stimulated Raman scattering microscopy with spectral phasor analysis: applications in assessing drug–cell interactions
William J. Tipping, Liam T. Wilson, Connie An, Aristea Anna Leventi, Alastair W. Wark, Corinna Wetherill, Nicholas C. O. Tomkinson, Karen Faulds, Duncan Graham
Abstract
) revealed the lipid droplet distribution throughout populations of live breast cancer cells using biocompatible imaging conditions. A spectral phasor analysis of the hyperspectral dataset enables rapid differentiation of discrete cellular compartments based on their intrinsic SRS characteristics. Applying the spectral phasor method to studying statin treated cells identified a lipid accumulating phenotype in cell populations which displayed the lowest sensitivity to statin treatment, whilst a weaker lipid accumulating phenotype was associated with a potent reduction in cell viability. This study provides an insight into potential resistance mechanisms of specific cancer cells towards treatment with statins. Label-free SRS imaging provides a novel and innovative technique for phenotypic assessment of drug-induced effects across different cellular populations and enables effective analysis of drug-cell interactions at the subcellular scale.