Masao Odaka

Development of On-Chip Multi-Imaging Flow Cytometry for Identification of Imaging Biomarkers of Clustered Circulating Tumor Cells

An on-chip multi-imaging flow cytometry system has been developed to obtain morphometric parameters of cell clusters such as cell number, perimeter, total cross-sectional area, number of nuclei and size of clusters as “imaging biomarkers”, with simultaneous acquisition and analysis of both bright-field (BF) and fluorescent (FL) images at 200 frames per second (fps); by using this system, we examined the effectiveness of using imaging biomarkers for the identification of clustered circulating tumor cells (CTCs). Sample blood of rats in which a prostate cancer cell line (MAT-LyLu) had been pre-implanted was applied to a microchannel on a disposable microchip after staining the nuclei using fluorescent dye for their visualization, and the acquired images were measured and compared with those of healthy rats. In terms of the results, clustered cells having (1) cell area larger than 200 µm2 and (2) nucleus area larger than 90 µm2 were specifically observed in cancer cell-implanted blood, but were not observed in healthy rats. In addition, (3) clusters having more than 3 nuclei were specific for cancer-implanted blood and (4) a ratio between the actual perimeter and the perimeter calculated from the obtained area, which reflects a shape distorted from ideal roundness, of less than 0.90 was specific for all clusters having more than 3 nuclei and was also specific for cancer-implanted blood. The collected clusters larger than 300 µm2 were examined by quantitative gene copy number assay, and were identified as being CTCs. These results indicate the usefulness of the imaging biomarkers for characterizing clusters, and all of the four examined imaging biomarkers—cluster area, nuclei area, nuclei number, and ratio of perimeter—can identify clustered CTCs in blood with the same level of preciseness using multi-imaging cytometry.

An on-chip imaging droplet-sorting system: A real-time shape recognition method to screen target cells in droplets with single cell resolution

A microfluidic on-chip imaging cell sorter has several advantages over conventional cell sorting methods, especially to identify cells with complex morphologies such as clusters. One of the remaining problems is how to efficiently discriminate targets at the species level without labelling. Hence, we developed a label-free microfluidic droplet-sorting system based on image recognition of cells in droplets. To test the applicability of this method, a mixture of two plankton species with different morphologies (Dunaliella tertiolecta and Phaeodactylum tricornutum) were successfully identified and discriminated at a rate of 10 Hz. We also examined the ability to detect the number of objects encapsulated in a droplet. Single cell droplets sorted into collection channels showed 91 ± 4.5% and 90 ± 3.8% accuracy for D. tertiolecta and P. tricornutum, respectively. Because we used image recognition to confirm single cell droplets, we achieved highly accurate single cell sorting. The results indicate that the integrated method of droplet imaging cell sorting can provide a complementary sorting approach capable of isolating single target cells from a mixture of cells with high accuracy without any staining.

Identification of cells using morphological information of bright field/fluorescent multi-imaging flow cytometer images

We have examined the ability of real-time simultaneous measurement of bright field/fluorescent images of cells in an on-chip bright field/fluorescent multi-imaging flow cytometer system. The system consists of (1) a disposable microfluidic hydrofocusing flow cytometry chip, (2) an optical microscopy module with splittable bright field/fluorescent multi-imaging optics, and (3) a real-time image-processing module with a 200 images/s high-speed digital camera. In the double “Y” shape three-way-inlet microfluidic pathways fabricated in the poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microchip, we applied fluorescent polystyrene standard beads and HeLa cells stained with fluorescent dye, Hoechst 33258, and measured the z-axis (depth) dependence of the morphological index; the intensity profile of cells and nuclei. Then, we measured the tendency of the blur of bright field/fluorescent images in the simultaneous measurement of bright field/fluorescent images on a single light-receiving surface, and found that their blurs were similar within the same range of the depth of the microfluidic pathway for small cell cluster measurement, 25 µm. Hence, the fluorescent images were applied as supporting information of the bright field images of cell clusters at the focal plane for the cell number counting. The result indicates the potential of precise identification of various types of cells by simultaneous morphological analysis of bright field and fluorescent images distributed with a single camera in a wider depth of microfluidic chip as a substitute for conventional biomarker detection.

Algorithm for the precise detection of single and cluster cells in microfluidic applications

Recent advances in imaging flow cytometry and microfluidic applications have led to the development of suitable mathematical algorithms capable of detecting and identifying targeted cells in images. In contrast to currently existing algorithms, we herein proposed the identification and reconstruction of cell edges based on original approaches that overcome frequent detection limitations such as halos, noise, and droplet boundaries in microfluidic applications. Reconstructed cells are then discriminated between single cells and clusters of round‐shaped cells, and cell information such as the area and location of a cell in an image is output. Using this method, 76% of cells detected in an image had an error <5% of the cell area size and 41% of the image had an error <1% of the cell area size (n = 1,000). The method developed in the present study is the first image processing algorithm designed to be flexible in use (i.e. independent of the size of an image, using a microfluidic droplet system or not, and able to recognize cell clusters in an image) and provides the scientific community with a very accurate imaging algorithm in the field of microfluidic applications.

On-chip spatiotemporal electrophysiological analysis of human stem cell derived cardiomyocytes enables quantitative assessment of proarrhythmia in drug development

We examined a simultaneous combined spatiotemporal field potential duration (FPD) and cell-to-cell conduction time (CT) in lined-up shaped human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CMs) using an on-chip multielectrode array (MEA) system to evaluate two origins of lethal arrhythmia, repolarization and depolarization. The repolarization index, FPD, was prolonged by E-4031 and astemizole, and shortened by verapamil, flecainide and terfenadine at 10 times higher than therapeutic plasma concentrations of each drug, but it did not change after lidocaine treatment up to 100 μM. CT was increased by astemizol, flecainide, terfenadine, and lidocaine at equivalent concentrations of Nav1.5 IC50, suggesting that CT may be an index of cardiac depolarization because the increase in CT (i.e., decrease in cell-to-cell conduction speed) was relevant to Nav1.5 inhibition. Fluctuations (short-term variability; STV) of FPD and CT, STVFPD and STVCT also discriminated between torsadogenic and non-torsadogenic compounds with significant increases in their fluctuation values, enabling precise prediction of arrhythmogenic risk as potential new indices.

Selective digestion of Ba2+/Ca2+ alginate gel microdroplets for single-cell handling

Cells encapsuled by polymer microdroplets are an effective platform for the identification and separation of individual cells for single-cell-based analysis. However, a key challenge is to maintain and release the captured cells in the microdroplets selectively, nondestructively, and noninvasively. We developed a simple method of encapsulating cells in alginate microdroplets having different digestion characteristics. Cells were diluted with an alginate polymer of sol state and encapsulated into microdroplets with Ba2+ and Ca2+ by a spray method. When a chelating buffer was applied, alginate gel microdroplets were digested according to the difference in chelating efficiency of linkage-divalent cations; hence, two types of alginate microdroplets were formed. Moreover, we examined the capability of the alginate gel to exchange linkage-divalent cations and found that both Ca2+ exchange in Ba-alginate microdroplets and Ba2+ exchange in Ca-alginate microdroplets occurred. These results indicate that the potential applications of a mixture of alginate microdroplets with different divalent cations control the selective digestion of microdroplets to improve the high-throughput, high-content microdroplet-based separation, analysis, or storage of single cells.

Particle recognition in microfluidic applications using a template matching algorithm

We herein examined the ability of a template matching algorithm to recognize particles with diameters ranging from 1 to 20 µm in a microfluidic channel. The algorithm consisted of measurements of the distance between the templates and the images captured with a high-speed camera in order to search for the presence of the desired particle. The results obtained indicated that the effects of blur and diffraction rings observed around the particle are important phenomena that limit the recognition of a target. Owing to the effects of diffraction rings, the distance between a template and an image is not exclusively linked to the position of the focus plane; it is also linked to the size of the particle being searched for. By using a set of three templates captured at different Z focuses and an 800× magnification, the template matching algorithm has the ability to recognize beads ranging in diameter from 1.7 to 20 µm with a resolution between 0.3 and 1 µm.

Predictive lethal proarrhythmic risk evaluation using a closed-loop-circuit cell network with human induced pluripotent stem cells derived cardiomyocytes

For the prediction of lethal arrhythmia occurrence caused by abnormality of cell-to-cell conduction, we have developed a next-generation in vitro cell-to-cell conduction assay, i.e., a quasi in vivo assay, in which the change in spatial cell-to-cell conduction is quantitatively evaluated from the change in waveforms of the convoluted electrophysiological signals from lined-up cardiomyocytes on a single closed loop of a microelectrode of 1 mm diameter and 20 µm width in a cultivation chip. To evaluate the importance of the closed-loop arrangement of cardiomyocytes for prediction, we compared the change in waveforms of convoluted signals of the responses in the closed-loop circuit arrangement with that of the response of cardiomyocyte clusters using a typical human ether a go-go related gene (hERG) ion channel blocker, E-4031. The results showed that (1) waveform prolongation and fluctuation both in the closed loops and clusters increased depending on the E-4031 concentration increase. However, (2) only the waveform signals in closed loops showed an apparent temporal change in waveforms from ventricular tachycardia (VT) to ventricular fibrillation (VF), which is similar to the most typical cell-to-cell conductance abnormality. The results indicated the usefulness of convoluted waveform signals of a closed-loop cell network for acquiring reproducible results acquisition and more detailed temporal information on cell-to-cell conduction.

Development of impedance/external field potential dual measurement system for evaluation of electrophysiological properties of cells on microelectrodes

A combination of extracellular field potential (FP) and impedance measurement technologies for multielectrode array (MEA) chip architecture is developed for the simultaneous evaluation of information on the ion current and resistance of cells and microelectrodes. The simultaneous measurement system can not only evaluate the time course changes of characteristics in the MEAs but also clarification of the origin of the difference in the waveform of the field potentials of each cell on an microelectrode whether it is caused by the changes in the electrophysiological properties of cells or by the changes in the performance of an microelectrode (and cell-to-electrode contacts). The automatic impedance measurement technology in the system exploited the swiping of the wide frequency range of impedances of microelectrodes and calculated the true impedance of each microelectrode without significant effects on the cells on the MEA chip. Hence, the system can give us invisible cell-to-electrode contact information and its change, and also information on the degradation of the performance of microelectrodes during long-term cultivation and after the application of compounds into the MEA chip. The impedance spectrum measurement showed that (1) the increase in the impedance of microelectrodes correlated with its area decrease from 10−7 to 10−10 m2, (2) even the area of microelectrodes decreased from 10−8 to 10−10 m2, the noise level of field potential signals was independent and did not change, and (3) the attachment of cells on the microelectrode surface can be determined by a significant increase in impedance at 1 kHz corresponding to the width of the depolarization peak on the field potential recordings. These results indicate the potential to evaluate the cell-to-electrode contact and degradation of microelectrodes, which was not evaluated in conventional FP measurements only. These results also indicate that this method should be used for the evaluation of the changes in cell network conditions caused by various compounds.