Single-cell magnetic imaging using a quantum diamond microscope.

We apply a quantum diamond microscope for detection and imaging of immunomagnetically labeled cells. This instrument uses nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond for correlated magnetic and fluorescence imaging. Our device provides single-cell resolution and a field of view (∼1 mm(2)) two orders of magnitude larger than that of previous NV imaging technologies, enabling practical applications. To illustrate, we quantified cancer biomarkers expressed by rare tumor cells in a large population of healthy cells.