The most recent discoveries in the biochemical field are highlighting the increasingly important role of lipid droplets (LDs) in several regulatory mechanisms in living cells. LDs are dynamic organelles and therefore their complete characterization in terms of number, size, spatial positioning and relative distribution in the cell volume can shed light on the roles played by LDs. Until now, fluorescence microscopy and transmission electron microscopy are assessed as the gold standard methods for identifying LDs due to their high sensitivity and specificity. However, such methods generally only provide 2D assays and partial measurements. Furthermore, both can be destructive and with low productivity, thus limiting analysis of large cell numbers in a sample. Here we demonstrate for the first time the capability of 3D visualization and the full LD characterization in high-throughput with a tomographic phase-contrast flow-cytometer, by using ovarian cancer cells and monocyte cell lines as models. A strategy for retrieving significant parameters on spatial correlations and LD 3D positioning inside each cell volume is reported. The information gathered by this new method could allow more in depth understanding and lead to new discoveries on how LDs are correlated to cellular functions.The most recent discoveries in the biochemical field are highlighting the increasingly important role of lipid droplets (LDs) in several regulatory mechanisms in living cells. LDs are dynamic organelles and therefore their complete characterization in terms of number, size, spatial positioning and relative distribution in the cell volume can shed light on the roles played by LDs. Until now, fluorescence microscopy and transmission electron microscopy are assessed as the gold standard methods for identifying LDs due to their high sensitivity and specificity. However, such methods generally only provide 2D assays and partial measurements. Furthermore, both can be destructive and with low productivity, thus limiting analysis of large cell numbers in a sample. Here we demonstrate for the first time the capability of 3D visualization and the full LD characterization in high-throughput with a tomographic phase-contrast flow-cytometer, by using ovarian cancer cells and monocyte cell lines as models. A strategy for retrieving significant parameters on spatial correlations and LD 3D positioning inside each cell volume is reported. The information gathered by this new method could allow more in depth understanding and lead to new discoveries on how LDs are correlated to cellular functions.

脂滴是真核细胞中必不可少的一种球形细胞器，与很多细胞生理学过程息息相关。荧光成像技术是观察研究脂滴最有力的工具之一。受光学衍射极限的限制，传统的宽场以及共聚焦显微镜所能达到的成像分辨率约为250 nm左右，这对于观测小脂滴，尤其是新生脂滴（尺寸约30~60 nm）来说是远远不够的。在这种情况下，近年来新兴的各种能够打破衍射极限的超分辨荧光显微镜（如受激发射损耗显微镜、结构光照明显微镜以及光激活定位显微镜等）逐渐吸引了科研人员的兴趣。为了得到高分辨率脂滴荧光图像，除了上述超分辨显微镜之外，还需要具有与之相匹配的高性能荧光探针。本文将简要介绍这几种超分辨显微镜的工作原理，讨论其对荧光探针光物理性质的特殊要求，并进一步系统总结脂滴超分辨成像荧光探针的研究进展。与此同时，本文将分析对比不同超分辨显微镜在脂滴荧光成像方面的优势与不足，并对其发展趋势进行展望。