Widefield real-time single-cell secretion imaging with optical waveguide technique

We report the novel methodology which enables us to analyze single-cell secretion dynamics on the widefield total internal reflection fluorescence imaging with high spatial and temporal resolution using the optical waveguide technique. The practical system was achieved after some sensitivity improvements in an optical waveguide imaging, which has succeeded in detecting very weak fluorescence signals reflecting single-cell secretion dynamics in spite of using a low magnification objective lens. Our methodology is more advantageous than other traditional microscopic technologies in real-time imaging of cell-to-cell communication through humoral factor secretion among actively migrating cells, like immune cells do in vivo.