Correlative Fluorescent Scanning Probe Nanotomography Used to Study the Intracellular Distribution of Doxorubicin in MCF-7 Human Breast Adenocarcinoma Cells

Developing technologies for efficient targeted drug delivery for oncotherapy requires new methods to analyze the features of micro- and nanoscale distributions of antitumor drugs in cells and tissues. A new approach to three-dimensional analysis of the intracellular distribution of cytostatics was developed using fluorescence scanning optical-probe nanotomography. A correlative analysis of the nanostructure and distribution of injected doxorubicin in MCF-7 human breast adenocarcinoma cells revealed the features of drug penetration and accumulation in the cell. The technology is based on the principles of scanning optical probe nanotomography and is applicable to studying the distribution patterns of various fluorescent or fluorescence-labelled substances in cells and tissues.