Combining Correlative Cryogenic Fluorescence and Electron Microscopy and Correlative Cryogenic Super‐Resolution Fluorescence and X‐Ray Tomography—Novel Complementary <scp>3D</scp> Cryo‐Microscopy Across Scales to Reveal Nanoparticle Internalization I
Understanding the intracellular fate of nanoparticles (NPs) is essential for advancing nanomedicine, particularly in targeted drug delivery for cancer therapy. Here, we present a complementary cryogenic microscopy workflow across scales to investigate the uptake and subcellular localization of zirconyl-containing inorganic-organic hybrid nanoparticles (IOH-NPs) in murine breast cancer cells. Our approach integrates cryogenic fluorescence microscopy (cryo-FM), cryo-focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (cryo-FIBSEM), and cryo-soft X-ray tomography (cryo-SXT), enabling molecular specificity, high-resolution imaging, and volumetric ultrastructural analysis in near-native cellular states. We demonstrate that the cryogenic workflow provides enough contrast and resolution across all modalities for quantifying the IOH-NP uptake: NPs are internalized within 2 h of incubation and progressively accumulate in endolysosomes over time, as confirmed by fluorescence labeling and SXT. Quantitative analysis reveals a marked increase in endolysosomal accumulation of IOH-NPs from 2 to 24 h. Our findings help to establish multimodal cryogenic microscopy as a powerful tool for nanoscale imaging and quantitative analysis of NP uptake within close-to-native cells, offering new insights into NP trafficking and cellular responses relevant to nanomedicine development.
Authors
- Andreas Walter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4096-1944)
- Claus Feldmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2426-9461)
- Pavitra Sokke Rudraiah (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-9477-2410)
- Frauke Alves (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6258-5409)
- Anna M. Steyer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4814-7517)
- Henriette Gröger
- Louisa Herbsleb
- Michaela Saláková
Institutions
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (DE)
- Universitätsmedizin Göttingen (DE)
- Hochschule Aalen (DE)
- Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine (DE)
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Microscopy Research and Technique
- Published
- 2025-09-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/jemt.70071
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Electron Microscopy Techniques and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Diamond Light Source
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory
- Boehringer Ingelheim Stiftung