Phase-contrast 3D tomography of cells grown in polymer electrospun scaffolds using synchrotron X-rays at Diamond Light Source (I13-2)

Session

Stream 4: Diamond Light Source Session 2

Authors

Ms Archana Bhartiya (5, 9), Dr Kamel Madi (1), Dr Catherine Disney (7), Dr Loic Courtois (1), Dr Andrew Jupe (4), Dr Fucai Zhang (3, 6, 9), Dr Andrew Bodey (2), Professor Peter Lee (6), Professor Christoph Rau (2), Professor Ian Robinson (5, 9, 10), Dr Mohammed Yusuf (5, 8, 9)

Affiliations

1. 3dMagination Ltd
2. Diamond Light Source
3. Southern University of Science and Technology
4. The University of Buckingham
5. UCL
6. University College London
7. University of Manchester
8. Aga Khan Unversity
9. Research Complex at Harwell
10. Brookhaven National Laboratory

Keywords

3D culture; electrospun polymers; scaffold; X-ray CT; synchrotron; image analysis; Avizo.

Abstract text

Advanced imaging is useful for understanding the three-dimensional (3D) growth of cells. X-ray tomography serves as a powerful noninvasive, nondestructive technique that can fulfill these purposes by providing information about cell growth within 3D platforms. There are a limited number of studies taking advantage of synchrotron X-rays, which provides a large field of view and suitable resolution to image cells within specific biomaterials. In this study, X-ray synchrotron radiation microtomography at Diamond Light Source and advanced image processing were used to investigate cellular infiltration of HeLa cells within poly l-lactide (PLLA) scaffolds. This study demonstrates that synchrotron X-rays using phase contrast is a useful method to understand the 3D growth of cells in PLLA electrospun scaffolds. We examined two different fiber diameter scaffolds with different pore sizes, grown over different days in vitro  Here we also show the infiltration and cell connectivity after segmentation of the cells in the different scaffold materials. This study indicates potential for using such 3D technology to study cell–scaffold interactions for future medical use.

References

Bhartiya, A., Madi, K., Disney, C. M., Courtois, L., Jupe, A., Zhang, F., Bodey, A. J., Lee, P., Rau, C., Robinson, I. K., & Yusuf, M. (2020). Phase-contrast 3D tomography of HeLa cells grown in PLLA polymer electrospun scaffolds using synchrotron X-rays. Journal of synchrotron radiation, 27(Pt 1), 158–163.