Hybrid imaging of fluorescently labeled cancer drugs and label-free four-wave mixing microscopy of cancer cells and tissues

Fluorescent labels are well suited as tracers for cancer drug monitoring. Identifying cellular target regions of these drugs with a high resolution is important to assess the working principle of a drug. We investigate the applications of label-free nonresonant four-wave mixing (NR-FWM) microscopy in biological imaging in combination with fluorescence imaging of fluorescently labeled cancer drugs. Results from human A431 tumor cells with stained nuclei and incubated with IRdye 800CW labeled cancer drug cetuximab targeting epidermal growth factor receptor at the cell membrane show that NR-FWM is well suited for cellular imaging. A comparison of vibrationally nonresonant FWM imaging with vibrational resonant coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering signals revealed nearly identical qualitative information in cellular imaging. NR-FWM is also suitable for tumor tissue imaging in combination with fluorescence imaging of IRdye 800CW labeled, human epidermal growth factor 2 targeting cancer drug pertuzumab and provides additional information over transmission microscopy.