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Biosensors
Volume 15
Issue 8
10.3390/bios15080522
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

High-Resolution Imaging of Morphological Changes Associated with Apoptosis and Necrosis Using Single-Cell Full-Field Optical Coherence Tomography

by
Suyeon Kang
1,†,
Kyeong Ryeol Kim
1,†,
Minju Cho
1,
Joonseup Hwang
1,
Joon-Mo Yang
2,
Jun Ki Kim
1,3,* and
Woo June Choi
4,5,*
1
Department of Convergence Medicine, Brain Korea 21 Project, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul 05505, Republic of Korea
2
Center for Photoacoustic Medical Instruments, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
3
Biomedical Engineering Research Center, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Republic of Korea
4
School of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06974, Republic of Korea
5
Department of Intelligent Semiconductor Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06974, Republic of Korea
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Biosensors 2025, 15(8), 522; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios15080522 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 17 July 2025 / Revised: 2 August 2025 / Accepted: 7 August 2025 / Published: 9 August 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Sensors for Biological Detection)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Full-field optical coherence tomography (FF-OCT) is a high-resolution interferometric imaging technique that enables label-free visualization of cellular structural changes. In this study, we employed a custom-built time-domain FF-OCT system to monitor morphological alterations in HeLa cells undergoing doxorubicin-induced apoptosis and ethanol-induced necrosis at the single-cell level. Apoptotic cells showed characteristic features such as echinoid spine formation, cell contraction, membrane blebbing, and filopodia reorganization. In contrast, necrotic cells exhibited rapid membrane rupture, intracellular content leakage, and abrupt loss of adhesion structure. These dynamic events were visualized using high-resolution tomography and three-dimensional surface topography mapping. Furthermore, FF-OCT-based interference reflection microscopy (IRM)-like imaging effectively highlighted changes in cell–substrate adhesion and cell boundary integrity during the cell death process. Our findings suggest that FF-OCT is a powerful imaging platform for distinguishing cell death pathways and assessing dynamic cellular states, with potential applications in drug toxicity testing, anticancer therapy evaluation, and regenerative medicine.
Keywords: full-field optical coherence tomography; apoptosis; necrosis; label-free; non-invasive; single-cell analysis; three-dimensional topographic mapping; interference reflection microscopy-like imaging; time-lapse imaging full-field optical coherence tomography; apoptosis; necrosis; label-free; non-invasive; single-cell analysis; three-dimensional topographic mapping; interference reflection microscopy-like imaging; time-lapse imaging

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MDPI and ACS Style

Kang, S.; Kim, K.R.; Cho, M.; Hwang, J.; Yang, J.-M.; Kim, J.K.; Choi, W.J. High-Resolution Imaging of Morphological Changes Associated with Apoptosis and Necrosis Using Single-Cell Full-Field Optical Coherence Tomography. Biosensors 2025, 15, 522. https://doi.org/10.3390/bios15080522

AMA Style

Kang S, Kim KR, Cho M, Hwang J, Yang J-M, Kim JK, Choi WJ. High-Resolution Imaging of Morphological Changes Associated with Apoptosis and Necrosis Using Single-Cell Full-Field Optical Coherence Tomography. Biosensors. 2025; 15(8):522. https://doi.org/10.3390/bios15080522

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kang, Suyeon, Kyeong Ryeol Kim, Minju Cho, Joonseup Hwang, Joon-Mo Yang, Jun Ki Kim, and Woo June Choi. 2025. "High-Resolution Imaging of Morphological Changes Associated with Apoptosis and Necrosis Using Single-Cell Full-Field Optical Coherence Tomography" Biosensors 15, no. 8: 522. https://doi.org/10.3390/bios15080522

APA Style

Kang, S., Kim, K. R., Cho, M., Hwang, J., Yang, J.-M., Kim, J. K., & Choi, W. J. (2025). High-Resolution Imaging of Morphological Changes Associated with Apoptosis and Necrosis Using Single-Cell Full-Field Optical Coherence Tomography. Biosensors, 15(8), 522. https://doi.org/10.3390/bios15080522

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