Assessing phototoxicity in live fluorescence imaging

• Published in: Nature methods Vol. 14; no. 7; pp. 657 - 661
• Main Authors: Laissue, P Philippe, Alghamdi, Rana A, Tomancak, Pavel, Reynaud, Emmanuel G, Shroff, Hari
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Nature Publishing Group US 01.07.2017; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 14; 14/35; 14/63; 631/1647/328; 64; 706/648/479; 96/34; Animals; Bioinformatics; Biological activity; Biological Microscopy; Biological Techniques; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedical Engineering/Biotechnology; Cell Proliferation - radiation effects; Cercopithecus aethiops; commentary; Dermatitis, Phototoxic - etiology; Dermatitis, Phototoxic - genetics; Dermatitis, Phototoxic - pathology; Diagnosis; DNA Damage; Fluorescence; Fluorescence microscopy; Free Radicals - metabolism; Imaging; Life Sciences; Light - adverse effects; Medical imaging; Microscopy, Fluorescence - methods; Photosensitivity disorders; Phototoxicity; Proteomics; Toxicity; Vero Cells
• ISSN: 1548-7091; 1548-7105
• DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.4344

This Commentary discusses the problem of phototoxicity in live imaging and suggests guidelines to improve its assessment and reporting. Are the answers to biological questions obtained via live fluorescence microscopy substantially affected by phototoxicity? Although a single set of standards for assessing phototoxicity cannot exist owing to the breadth of samples and experimental questions associated with biological imaging, we need quantitative, practical assessments and reporting standards to ensure that imaging has a minimal impact on observed biological processes and sample health. Here we discuss the problem of phototoxicity in biology and suggest guidelines to improve its reporting and assessment.