# Measuring single-cell water content non invasively and with high precision

> **NIH NIH R01** · MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · 2024 · $318,000

## Abstract

SUMMARY
Water is the medium in which biochemistry operates. The amount of water inside a cell defines the concentration
of all biomolecules and the degree of molecular crowding. Consequently, water content is predicted to influence
virtually all cell functions from immune surveillance to stem cell renewal in vivo. There are also severe genetic
diseases caused by mutated water channels on cell membranes. Despite the fundamental role of cellular water
content in cell physiology and diseases, there are no direct and non-invasive methods that measure how much
water a single cell or a cluster of cells, such as an organoid, contains. This lack of water content measurements
has prevented us from understanding cell physiology in normal and disease states, and from discovering drugs
that can modulate cellular water content in diseases where water content is perturbed. Here, we propose to
develop a new method that will directly, non-invasively and precisely measure the absolute and fractional (v/v)
water content of a single cell or an organoid. This method will enable the long-term monitoring of the same cell
or organoid during growth, differentiation or drug exposure. To achieve this, we will integrate total volume and
dry volume measurements obtained using two independent approaches that we have previously developed. Our
proposed method will enable water content measurements in complex and biomedically relevant samples, such
as immune cells and organoids, with high throughput and in conjunction with detection of fluorescent markers.
This method will enable novel basic and biomedical research that will increase our understanding of water
content regulation in health and disease, and provide a new platform for drug discovery.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10917156
- **Project number:** 5R01GM150901-02
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
- **Principal Investigator:** SCOTT R MANALIS
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $318,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-01 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10917156

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10917156, Measuring single-cell water content non invasively and with high precision (5R01GM150901-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10917156. Licensed CC0.

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