Newsletter February: Unlocking the power of Nanolive’s holotomography

Welcome to the February edition of the AI for Live Cell Insights Newsletter, bringing you the latest live cell analyses powering drug discovery and cosmetics development. Each month, we will explore a new application of AI-based cellular analysis for label-free live cell imaging, with publication highlights and news from Nanolive. This month, we are highlighting the exciting application of AI for monitoring mitochondrial dynamics launched on February 25th, as well as recent publications in the fields of oncology and material science.

Exciting news: Nanolive’s label-free Smart

Mitochondrial Assay^LIVE launched on February 25th!

You can now watch the exclusive launch of Nanolive’s Smart Mitochondrial Assay^LIVE, a groundbreaking label-free and AI-powered digital analysis tool that redefines mitochondrial research.

Explore how this breakthrough technology enables quantitative, label-free monitoring of mitochondrial dynamics, from individual organelles to entire networks, in response to drug treatments and toxicity exposure. Discover its impact on drug safety, mechanism of action studies, and efficacy screening across key biopharma applications, including oncology, metabolic diseases, and mitochondrial dysfunction.
Watch the event on demand here.

Nanolive’s holotomography: Quantitative, noninvasive 3D imaging for cell analysis

Holotomography is an advanced imaging technique that uses light interference to produce three-dimensional, label-free images of live cells. Unlike traditional microscopy methods that often require fluorescent dyes or chemical stains, holotomography relies on natural refractive index differences within the cell. The refractive index measures how much light slows down and changes direction as it passes through various cellular components. Each cellular structure has a unique refractive index value, enabling detailed insights into the morphology, content and behavior of the imaged cells. Moreover, this non-invasive technique preserves the integrity of the samples, minimizing the risks associated with staining, fixation, and prolonged exposure to high-energy light, allowing for downstream use of the imaged cells.

Nanolive’s holotomographic imaging platforms use a unique rotating light source to enhance resolution, capturing 96 image slices through the vertical z-stack to generate 3D images with high-resolution, in-focus cross sections of the cell, minimizing background signal. These 3D images are then converted into 2D maximum intensity projections, which highlight the detailed features across the entire 3D volume.

This label-free, high-content approach provides unbiased, quantitative insights into cellular responses to drug treatments, toxicity, and disease-related dysfunction. By eliminating the need for dyes and preserving live-cell integrity, Nanolive’s holotomography enables longitudinal studies, drug screenings, and more predictive models for drug discovery and development, accelerating decision-making while reducing variability and sample loss.

For a more in-depth comparison between different imaging techniques, read our eBook here.

Which cellular structures can be identified with Nanolive’s holotomography imaging platforms?

Nanolive’s holotomographic imaging platforms provide high-content data by capturing cellular and organelle features in three dimensions. Key structures, including the cell membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, nucleoli, mitochondria, lipid droplets, and vacuoles, are all visible, each characterized by distinct refractive index values. Brighter objects in the images correspond to higher refractive index values, providing detailed insights into their morphology and content. These refractive index variations enable quantitative measurements of cell and organelle morphology, structural dynamics and content providing detailed insights in a label-free manner.

Holotomography allows for both organelle-level and cellular-level quantification, as well as across entire cell populations making it ideal for studying cellular processes such as migration, division, and cytotoxicity. Additionally, Nanolive’s digital assays automate and streamline these measurements, enabling high-throughput analysis for drug discovery, health and disease research.

Download the guide to label-free organelle identification now to explore how cellular and organelle structures appear with Nanolive’s holotomography imaging platforms.

Latest publication highlights with Nanolive imaging:

In a recent Nature publication, the team of Professor Yosuke Togashi at Okayama University used high-resolution holotomography to study mitochondrial replacement in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). Specifically, Nanolive’s 3D Cell Explorer 96focus was used to capture the mitochondrial transfer from melanoma cells (MEL04) to CD45+ CD3+ T cells. To monitor this process, MitoDsRed, a mitochondria-specific fluorescent protein, was introduced into the melanoma cells, while MitoTracker Green was used to label the mitochondria in T cells. Cells were monitored over several hours, and Nanolive’s platform enabled the combination of label-free imaging with fluorescence, allowing real-time monitoring of mitochondrial dynamics. This imaging technique revealed how T cells gradually lost their green mitochondria and acquired the red mitochondria from melanoma cells, providing valuable insights into the dynamics of mitochondrial transfer and its potential role in immune modulation within the tumor microenvironment. This approach highlights the power of Nanolive’s platform in studying cellular processes in real time with unprecedented resolution and detail.

Case study: Bispecific antibody treatment accelerates killing by T cells

Read the full paper here: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08439-0

Latest publication highlights with Nanolive imaging:

• Mitochondria: Togashi, Y. et al. (2025) ‘Mitochondrial replacement in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes by melanoma cells visualized by high-resolution holotomography,’ Nature, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08439-0 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08439-0

• Cell therapy: Nayak, D. et al. (2025) ‘Trehalose extricates impaired mitochondrial and autophagy dysregulation in patient iPSC-derived macular corneal dystrophy disease model,’ Stem Cell Therapy and Research, https://doi.org/10.1186/s13287-024-04016-4 DOI: 10.1186/s13287-024-04016-4

• Material Science: Landes,T. et al. (2025) ‘Micromechanical behavior of the apple fruit cuticle investigated by Brillouin light scattering microscopy,’ Communications Biology, https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07555-5 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-025-07555-5

• Oncology: Federspiel J. Et al. (2025), ’Patient-Derived Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Support the Colonization of Tumor Cells in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma’, Biomedicines, https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13020358 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines13020358

• Cellular Biology: Akosah, Y. et al. (2025) ‘Differential effects of endo- and exopolyphosphatase expression on the induction of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore, ’ Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) – Biomembranes, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbamem.2025.184408 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2025.184408.

Find over 300 publications featuring Nanolive imaging here.

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