Non-optical, label-free electrical capacitance imaging of microorganisms.

ABSTRACT: Many fundamental insights into microbiology have come from imaging, which is typically synonymous with optical techniques. However, the sample preparation needed for many optical microscopy methods, such as labeling, fixing, or genetic modification, limits the range of species and environments we can investigate. Here, we demonstrate the use of electrical capacitance measurements as a non-optical method for imaging live microbial samples. In electrical capacitance imaging (ECI), samples are positioned in contact with a semiconductor sensor array, and localized capacitance measurements are made across the array. From these measurements, we generate textured images of a variety of microbial colonies. We determine that capacitance is correlated with local sample thickness by comparing ECI dat

SUBMITTER: Incandela JT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12421826 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature