An endoscope that can providehigh resolution optical images of the interior of a single living cell has been developed by the US Department of Energy Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory. It can also precisely deliver therapeutic drugs, genes, poteins, and other substances without damaging the cell. "By combining the advantages of nanowire waveguides and fibre-optic fluorescence imaging, we can manipulate light at the nanoscale inside living cells for studying biological processes within single living cells with high spatial and temporal resolution," says Peidong Yang, a chemist with Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division, who led this research. "We've shown that our nanowire-based endoscope can also detect optical signals from subcellular regions and, through light-activated mechanisms, can deliver payloads into cells with spatial and temporal specificity." "In the future, in addition to optical imaging and cargo delivery, we could also use this nanowire endoscope to electrically or optically stimulate a living cell," Yang says.
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