Submicron spatial resolution optical coherence tomography for visualising the 3D structures of cells cultivated in complex culture systems

Three-dimensional (3D) configuration of in vitro cultivated cells has been recognised as a valuable tool in developing stem cell and cancer cell therapy. However, currently available imaging approaches for live cells have drawbacks, including unsatisfactory resolution, lack of cross-sectional and 3D images, and poor penetration of multi-layered cell products, especially when cells are cultivated on semitransparent carriers. Herein, we report a prototype of a full-field optical coherence tomography (FF-OCT) system with isotropic submicron spatial resolution in en face and cross-sectional views that provides a label-free, non-invasive platform with high-resolution 3D imaging. We validated the imaging power of this prototype by examining (1) cultivated neuron cells (N2A cell line); (2) multilayered, cultivated limbal epithelial sheets (mCLESs); (3) neuron cells (N2A cell line) and mCLESs cultivated on a semitransparent amniotic membrane (stAM); and (4) directly adherent colonies of neuron-like cells (DACNs) covered by limbal epithelial cell sheets. Our FF-OCT exhibited a penetrance of up to 150 μm in a multilayered cell sheet and displayed the morphological differences of neurons and epithelial cells in complex coculture systems. This FF-OCT is expected to facilitate the visualisation of cultivated cell products in vitro and has a high potential for cell therapy and translational medicine research.