UNIST announced on the 25th that a research team led by Professor Park Jung-hoon of the Department of Biomedical Engineering has developed a fluorescence microscopy technology capable of simultaneously observing movements occurring inside and outside of living cells. The research results were published on the 22nd of last month in the international academic journal Laser & Photonics Reviews.

Cells forming blood vessels and certain cancer cells extend microscopic protrusions to explore their surrounding environment and move. During this process, "vesicles"—small sacs inside the cells—transport essential substances such as proteins. However, conventional microscopes have limited depth-of-field capabilities, making it difficult to clearly and simultaneously observe cell structures and movements located at different depths.

The research team developed a technology that adjusts the depth of illumination for each observation region, enabling the simultaneous observation of various cellular structures. Utilizing this technology, they successfully captured footage of cervical cancer cell protrusions and vesicles in motion at a rate of 20 frames per second.

Professor Park stated, "This will be helpful in understanding cell movement occurring during cancer metastasis or wound healing processes and in developing therapeutic drugs."

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