Determination of cell nucleus-to-cytoplasmic ratio using imaging flow cytometry and a combined ultrasound and photoacoustic technique: a comparison study

While the nucleus-to-cytoplasmic (N:C) ratio has traditionally been used for assessing cell malignancy, most N:C measurement techniques are time-consuming and performed on thin histological sections, which prohibit assessment of three-dimensional cell structure. A combined ultrahigh frequency ultrasound (US) and photoacoustic (PA) technique was used to assess the size and N:C ratio of cultured cancer cells in three dimensions (3D). The diameters of the cells and their stained nuclei were obtained by fitting the power spectrum of backscattered US pulses and emitted PA waves, respectively, to well-established theoretical models. For comparison, an imaging flow cytometer (IFC) was also used to determine the two-dimensional cell and nucleus sizes from large cell populations using brightfield and fluorescence images, respectively. An N:C ratio was calculated for each cell using the quotient of the measured nucleus diameter and the total cell diameter. The mean N:C ratios calculated using the sound-based approach were 0.68, 0.66, and 0.54 for MCF-7, PC-3, and MDA-MB-231 cells, respectively, and were in good agreement with the corresponding values of 0.68, 0.67, and 0.68 obtained using the IFC. The combined US and PA technique, which assesses cellular N:C ratio in 3D, has potential applications in the detection of circulating tumor cells in liquid biopsies.