[Investigation of lymphocytes activation using a method of coherent phase microscopy].

Investigation of initial stages of T-lymphocytes activation was performed by coherent phase microscopy (CPM) based on the measurements of phase thickness and diameter of the cell and its organelles. Lymphocytes where activated in two ways: by addition of 2 10-6 g/ml phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and with He-Ne laser (lambda = 633 nm, 10-3 W) radiation. It was shown that phase thickness is proportional to refractivity (difference between refractive indices of an object and the surrounding medium) and geometrical thickness.

[Coherent phase microscopy: a new method of identification of intracellular structures based on their optical and morphometric parameters].

A new method for the identification of intracellular structures of a living cell and obtaining the quantitative parameters characterizing these structures by means of coherent phase microscopy is proposed. The method is based on the analysis of the histogram of a cell phase image and its decomposition by phase height levels. In the spherical and cylindrical approximation of the cell, the method makes it possible to separate the contributions of phase-contrast intracellular structures to the integral refractive index of the whole cell.

Reduction of phase thickness is a characteristic reaction of the nucleoli to toxicity as shown by coherent phase microscopy.

Optical parameters of human cell nucleoli (HCT116 colorectal cancer cells) in depolymerization of microtubules and depletion of intracellular ATP pool were studied by coherent phase microscopy. These influences were associated with a rapid (recorded within the first minutes) reduction of the phase thickness of the nucleoli. These changes are similar to the nucleolar response to direct inhibitors of transcription.

[Research on the early stages of spore germination in Bacillus subtilis using dynamic phase microscopy].

The changes in the state of Bacillus subtilis spores that occur during germination were analyzed using dynamic phase microscopy (DPM). DPM is based on monitoring and analyzing the interference image of a specimen in a coherent laser beam. The optical path difference (the phase thickness of the specimen, PT) depends on the geometrical height of the specimen and its refractive index.

Study of optical parameters of the nucleoli under the effect of transcription inhibitors by coherent phase microscopy.

The use of coherent phase microscopy for online quantitative registration of nucleolar reaction to transcription inhibition is validated. Reduction of phase thickness of the nucleoli was detected during the first minutes of the experiment; 30 min after addition of the drug rarefaction zones predominated and areas of condensation were seen. These changes reflect the dynamics of disorders in the nucleolar ultrastructure during transcription inhibition.