Quantitative Scanning Microwave Microscopy of the Evolution of a Live Biological Cell in a Physiological Buffer

This article reports the first quantitative characterization by scanning microwave microscopy (SMM) of a live cell in its physiological buffer. The challenges for quantitative SMM of soft matter in liquid were overcome mainly by characterizing the probe–sample interaction through multiscale finite-element full-wave electromagnetic simulation of not only the probe tip but also the probe body and holder. Using quantitative SMM, the relative permittivity of the center of a live L6 cell on the top of its nucleus was determined to be (32 ± 6) − j(20 ± 4), which was in general agreement with the literature and simple estimation. Moreover, taking advantage of the noninvasiveness and subsurface sensitivity of SMM, it was used to monitor the physiological condition of the cell for hours. The results showed that the gradual shrinking of the cell footprint did not impact cell vitality significantly. These results implied that SMM could be a valuable technique for label-free noninvasive characterization of subcellular structures in a live cell, as well as its physiopathological conditions.