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Abstract:
The biophysical properties of cells reflect their identities, underpin their homeostatic
state in health, and define the pathogenesis of disease. Recent leapfrogging
advances in biophysical cytometry now give access to this information,
which is obscured in molecular assays, with a discriminative power that was
once inconceivable. However, biophysical cytometry should go 'deeper' in
terms of exploiting the information-rich cellular biophysical content, generating
a molecular knowledge base of cellular biophysical properties, and standardizing
the protocols for wider dissemination. Overcoming these barriers, which
requires concurrent innovations in microfluidics, optical imaging, and computer
vision, could unleash the enormous potential of biophysical cytometry not only
for gaining a new mechanistic understanding of biological systems but also for
identifying new cost-effective biomarkers of disease.
