Imaging live cell membranes via surface plasmon-enhanced fluorescence and phase microscopy

Opt Express. 2010 Feb 15;18(4):3649-59. doi: 10.1364/OE.18.003649.

Abstract

This paper demonstrates the first combination for wide-field surface plasmon (SP) phase microscopy and SP-enhanced fluorescence microscopy to image living cells' contacts on the surface of a bio-substrate simultaneously. The phase microscopy with a phase-shift interferometry and common-path optical setup can provide high-sensitivity phase information in long-term stability. Simultaneously, the fluorescence microscopy with the enhancement of a local electromagnetic field can supply bright fluorescent images. The combined microscope imposes a high numerical aperture objective upon the excitation of surface plasmon through a silver film with a thickness of 30 nm. The developed SP microscope is successfully applied to the real-time bright observation of the transfected fluorescence of living cells localized near the cell membrane on the bio-substrate and the high-sensitivity phase image of the cell-substrate contacts at the same time.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cell Membrane / ultrastructure*
  • Equipment Design
  • Equipment Failure Analysis
  • Image Enhancement / instrumentation*
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence / instrumentation*
  • Microscopy, Phase-Contrast / instrumentation*
  • Subtraction Technique / instrumentation*
  • Surface Plasmon Resonance / instrumentation*