Simultaneous nanorheometry and nanothermometry using intracellular diamond quantum sensors

Abstract

Viscoelasticity of the cytoplasm plays a critical role in cell morphology and division. In parallel, local temperature is coupled to viscoelasticity and influences cellular bioenergetics. Probing the interdependence of intracellular temperature and viscoelasticity provides an exciting opportunity for the study of metabolism and disease progression. Here, we present a dual-mode quantum sensor, capable of performing simultaneous nanoscale thermometry and rheometry in a dynamic cellular environment. Our technique uses nitrogen-vacancy centres in nanodiamond, combining sub-diffraction resolution single-particle tracking in a fluidic environment with optically detected magnetic resonance spectroscopy. We demonstrate nanoscale sensing of temperature-dependent viscoelasticity in complex media. We then use our sensor to investigate the interplay between intracellular forces and cytoplasmic rheology in live cells, revealing details of active trafficking and nanoscale viscoelasticity.

References in corpus (2)

• Electron spin resonance of nitrogen-vacancy centers in optically trapped nanodiamonds
• In-Situ Studies of Stress Environment in Amorphous Solids Using Negatively Charged Nitrogen Vacancy Centers in Nanodiamond

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Quantum-grade nanodiamonds for ultrabright spin detection in live cells
• Temperature dependent spin-phonon coupling of boron-vacancy centers in hexagonal boron nitride
• Q-BiC: A biocompatible integrated chip for in vitro and in vivo spin-based quantum sensing
• Engineering Nanodiamonds for Quantum Sensing: Material Constraints at the Nanoscale