Label-free identification and characterization of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes using second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy.

Pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (PSC-CMs) are a potentially unlimited source of cardiomyocytes (CMs) for cardiac transplantation therapies. The establishment of pure PSC-CM populations is important for this application, but is hampered by a lack of CM-specific surface markers suitable for their identification and sorting. Contemporary purification techniques are either non-specific or require genetic modification. We report a second harmonic generation (SHG) signal detectable in PSC-CMs that is attributable to sarcomeric myosin, dependent on PSC-CM maturity, and retained while PSC-CMs are in suspension. Our study demonstrates the feasibility of developing a SHG-activated flow cytometer for the non-invasive purification of PSC-CMs.