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Image repository from : Subcellular nanoparticle trafficking investigated with label-free, live cell imaging

Straehla, Joelle123; Nelson, Elizabeth3

Published Apr 14, 2026 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.zkh1893qf

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Abstract

Nanoparticle drug delivery systems have significant potential to transform precision medicine due to their ability to encapsulate a wide range of cargos that can be packaged in various types of carriers. Delivery kinetics can also be modified by altering the surface chemistry of the nanoparticle carrier. However, a gap remains in our understanding of the cellular mechanisms underlying nanoparticle uptake and subcellular trafficking kinetics. A comprehensive understanding of nanoparticle-cell interactions considering both the nanocarrier and the drug cargo has been challenging, partly due to technological limitations. Here, we present a robust long-term imaging workflow as a novel tool to study live-cell dynamics and nanoparticle delivery. We show how the integration of holography, tomography, and fluorescence microscopy enhances the capacity to study living, adherent cells in vitro label-free with further applications in assessing nanoparticle uptake and delivery kinetics over time.

We also introduce a method of characterizing kinetic data from a library of lipid- and polymer-based nanoformulations without the need for cellular labels. This application of dynamic fluorescent holotomography as a new method to investigate nanoparticle uptake and cargo delivery highlights the expanding utility of multimodal, label-free, live imaging techniques.