The paper presents the results of a study of dynamic processes in living buccal epithelial cells using dynamic phase microscopy (DPM). The experimental setup, created on the basis of a modified MII-4 microinterferometer, provided real-time registration of nanometer-scale changes in the phase height of cellular structures. The high spatial and temporal resolution of the technique made it possible to observe intracellular processes without the use of fluorescent labels and invasive interventions. Algorithms for constructing track diagrams, spatiotemporal and spatiotemporal portraits, providing detailed visualization of local cellular activity, have been developed for data analysis. Testing of the system on a semiconductor wafer showed high stability of the instrument (mistake ±5 nm), confirming the reliability of measurements. The study of cells revealed the presence of unsteady processes with an amplitude of up to 6–8 nm, mainly localized in the transition region between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. Spatial frequency analysis revealed the predominance of components in the 0.01–0.07 and 0.16–0.245 Hz ranges, which is presumably related to mitochondrial activity, Brownian motion, protein synthesis, and the effects of photobiomodulation of cytochrome c oxidase when exposed to infrared radiation. The presented results demonstrate the potential of DPM for noninvasive monitoring of intracellular dynamics and emphasize the need for further research to establish accurate correlations between spectral characteristics and specific biological processes.
Alexander Kretushev (Fri,) studied this question.