Millikelvin intracellular nanothermometry with nanodiamonds

Millikelvin intracellular nanothermometry with nanodiamonds | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Millikelvin intracellular nanothermometry with nanodiamonds Maabur Sow, Jacky Mohnani, Genko Genov, Raphael Klevesath, Elisabeth Mayerhoefer, and 22 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6074308/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract Nanothermometry within living cells is an important endeavour in physics, as the mechanisms of heat diffusion in such complex and dynamic environments remain poorly understood. In biology, nanothermometry may offer new insights into cellular biology and open new avenues for drug-discovery. Previous studies using various nanothermometers have reported temperature variations of up to several degrees Celsius during metabolic stimulation, but these findings have remained controversial as they appear to contradict the law of heat diffusion in the presence of heating rates that are consistent with physiological parameters. Here, we report nanodiamond nanothermometry inside macrophages by measuring the optically detected magnetic resonance spectra of nitrogen-vacancy centres. We analyse the spectra when cells are metabolically stimulated and after cell death. We show that the apparent spin resonant spectral shifts could be misinterpreted as temperature changes but are actually caused by electrical field changes on the nanodiamond's surface. We address these artefacts with optimised nanodiamonds and a more robust sensing protocol to measure temperature inside cells with precision down to 100 mK (52 mK outside cells). No significant temperature changes upon metabolic stimulation were found, a finding consistent with the implementation of the heat diffusion law and expected physiological heating rates. Biological sciences/Biophysics/Nanoscale biophysics Biological sciences/Biological techniques/Nanobiotechnology/Nanoparticles Biological sciences/Biological techniques/Nanobiotechnology/Biosensors Biological sciences/Biological techniques/Microscopy/Confocal microscopy Biological sciences/Biological techniques/Imaging/Fluorescence imaging diamond technology quantum sensing thermodynamics of life mitochondria colloidal science coherent control rapid adiabatic pulses Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files SI.pdf Supplemental information to: millikelvin intracellular nanothermometry with nanodiamonds Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6074308","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":435118981,"identity":"c80d9fe0-0310-4a50-90ca-3c9eced7f6e7","order_by":0,"name":"Maabur 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