Polarization resolved second harmonic microscopy.

Second harmonic (SH) microscopy has proven to be a powerful imaging modality over the past years due to its intrinsic advantages as a multiphoton process with endogenous contrast specificity, which allows pinhole-less optical sectioning, non-invasive observation, deep tissue penetration, and the possibility of easier signal detection at visible wavelengths. Depending on the relative orientation between the polarization of the incoming light and the second-order susceptibility of non-centrosymmetric structures, SH microscopy provides the unique capacity to probe the absolute molecular structure of a broad variety of biological tissues without the necessity for additional labeling. In addition, SH microscopy, when working with polarimetry, provides clear and in-depth insights on the details of molecular orientation and structural symmetry. In this review, the working principles of the polarization resolving techniques and the corresponding implements of SH microscopy are elucidated, with focus on Stokes vector based polarimetry. An overview of the advancements on SH anisotropy measurements are also presented. Specifically, the recent progresses on the following three topics in polarization resolved SH microscopy will be elucidated, which include Stokes vector resolving for imaging molecular structure and orientation, 3-D structural chirality by SH circular dichroism, and correlation with fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) for in vivo wound healing diagnosis. The potentials and challenges for future researches in exploring complex biological tissues are also discussed.

Measurement of Scattering Nonlinearities from a Single Plasmonic Nanoparticle.

Plasmonics, which are based on the collective oscillation of electrons due to light excitation, involve strongly enhanced local electric fields and thus have potential applications in nonlinear optics, which requires extraordinary optical intensity. One of the most studied nonlinearities in plasmonics is nonlinear absorption, including saturation and reverse saturation behaviors. Although scattering and absorption in nanoparticles are closely correlated by the Mie theory, there has been no report of nonlinearities in plasmonic scattering until very recently. Last year, not only saturation, but also reverse saturation of scattering in an isolated plasmonic particle was demonstrated for the first time. The results showed that saturable scattering exhibits clear wavelength dependence, which seems to be directly linked to the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). Combined with the intensity-dependent measurements, the results suggest the possibility of a common mechanism underlying the nonlinear behaviors of scattering and absorption. These nonlinearities of scattering from a single gold nanosphere (GNS) are widely applicable, including in super-resolution microscopy and optical switches. In this paper, it is described in detail how to measure nonlinearity of scattering in a single GNP and how to employ the super-resolution technique to enhance the optical imaging resolution based on saturable scattering. This discovery features the first super-resolution microscopy based on nonlinear scattering, which is a novel non-bleaching contrast method that can achieve a resolution as low as l/8 and will potentially be useful in biomedicine and material studies.

Dynamic photopatterning of cells in situ by Q-switched neodymium-doped yttrium ortho-vanadate laser.

Cellular micropattering has been increasingly adopted in quantitative biological experiments. A Q-switched pulsed neodymium-doped yttrium ortho-vanadate (Nd∶YVO4) laser directed in-situ microfabrication technique for cell patterning is presented. A platform is designed uniquely to achieve laser ablation. The platform is comprised of thin gold coating over a glass surface that functions as a thermal transducer and is over-layered by a cell repellant polymer layer. Micropatterns are engraved on the platform, subsequently exposing specific cell adhesive micro-domains by ablating the gold-polymer coating photothermally. Experimental results indicate that the proposed approach is applicable under culture conditions, viable toward cells, and has a higher engraving speed. Possible uses in arraying isolated single cells on the platform are also shown. Additionally, based on those micro-patterns, dynamic cellular morphological changes and migrational speed in response to geometrical barriers are studied to demonstrate the potential applications of the proposed approach. Our results further demonstrate that cells in narrower geometry had elongated shapes and higher migrational speed than those in wider geometry. Importantly, the proposed approach will provide a valuable reference for efforts to study single cell dynamics and cellular migration related processes for areas such as cell division, wound healing, and cancer invasion.

In vivo wound healing diagnosis with second harmonic and fluorescence lifetime imaging.

Skin wounds heal when a series of cell lineages are triggered, followed by collagen deposition, to reconstruct damaged tissues. This study evaluates the regeneration of collagen and change in cellular metabolic rate in vivo during wound healing in rats, with second harmonic generation (SHG) and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy respectively. The metabolic rate of cells is reflected through the lifetime of the autofluorescence from the co-enzyme protein, reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, due to its change in the relative concentration of bound and free forms. A higher than normal cellular metabolic rate is observed during the first week of healing, which decreases gradually after eight days of wound formation. SHG signal intensity change indicates the net degradation of collagen during the inflammatory phase, and net regeneration begins on day five. Eventually, the quantity of collagen increases gradually to form a scar tissue as the final product. Importantly, this work demonstrates the feasibility of an in vivo imaging approach for a normal wound on rat skin, which has the potential to supplement the noninvasive clinical diagnosis of wounds.

In vivo wound healing diagnosis with second harmonic and fluorescence lifetime imaging.

Skin wounds heal when a series of cell lineages are triggered, followed by collagen deposition, to reconstruct damaged tissues. This study evaluates the regeneration of collagen and change in cellular metabolic rate in vivo during wound healing in rats, with second harmonic generation (SHG) and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy respectively. The metabolic rate of cells is reflected through the lifetime of the autofluorescence from the co-enzyme protein, reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, due to its change in the relative concentration of bound and free forms. A higher than normal cellular metabolic rate is observed during the first week of healing, which decreases gradually after eight days of wound formation. SHG signal intensity change indicates the net degradation of collagen during the inflammatory phase, and net regeneration begins on day five. Eventually, the quantity of collagen increases gradually to form a scar tissue as the final product. Importantly, this work demonstrates the feasibility of an in vivo imaging approach for a normal wound on rat skin, which has the potential to supplement the noninvasive clinical diagnosis of wounds.