Fluorescence interferometry: principles and applications in biology. 2008

Alberto Bilenca, and Jing Cao, and Max Colice, and Aydogan Ozcan, and Brett Bouma, and Laurel Raftery, and Guillermo Tearney
Harvard Medical School and Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 50 Blossom St., BAR 720, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA. abilenca@partners.org

The use of fluorescence radiation is of fundamental importance for tackling measurement problems in the life sciences, with recent demonstrations of probing biological systems at the nanoscale. Usually, fluorescent light-based tools and techniques use the intensity of light waves, which is easily measured by detectors. However, the phase of a fluorescence wave contains subtle, but no less important, information about the wave; yet, it has been largely unexplored. Here, we introduce the concept of fluorescence interferometry to allow the measurement of phase information of fluorescent light waves. In principle, fluorescence interferometry can be considered a unique form of optical low-coherence interferometry that uses fluorophores as a light source of low temporal coherence. Fluorescence interferometry opens up new avenues for developing new fluorescent light-based imaging, sensing, ranging, and profiling methods that to some extent resemble interferometric techniques based on white light sources. We propose two experimental realizations of fluorescence interferometry that detect the interference pattern cast by the fluorescence fields. This article discusses their measurement capabilities and limitations and compares them with those offered by optical low-coherence interferometric schemes. We also describe applications of fluorescence interferometry to imaging, ranging, and profiling tasks and present experimental evidences of wide-field cross-sectional imaging with high resolution and large range of depth, as well as quantitative profiling with nanometer-level precision. Finally, we point out future research directions in fluorescence interferometry, such as fluorescence tomography of whole organisms and the extension to molecular interferometry by means of quantum dots and bioluminescence.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007368 Interferometry Measurement of distances or movements by means of the phenomena caused by the interference of two rays of light (optical interferometry) or of sound (acoustic interferometry). Interferometries
D008027 Light That portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the visible, ultraviolet, and infrared range. Light, Visible,Photoradiation,Radiation, Visible,Visible Radiation,Photoradiations,Radiations, Visible,Visible Light,Visible Radiations
D008856 Microscopy, Fluorescence Microscopy of specimens stained with fluorescent dye (usually fluorescein isothiocyanate) or of naturally fluorescent materials, which emit light when exposed to ultraviolet or blue light. Immunofluorescence microscopy utilizes antibodies that are labeled with fluorescent dye. Fluorescence Microscopy,Immunofluorescence Microscopy,Microscopy, Immunofluorescence,Fluorescence Microscopies,Immunofluorescence Microscopies,Microscopies, Fluorescence,Microscopies, Immunofluorescence
D008858 Microscopy, Phase-Contrast A form of interference microscopy in which variations of the refracting index in the object are converted into variations of intensity in the image. This is achieved by the action of a phase plate. Phase-Contrast Microscopy,Microscopies, Phase-Contrast,Microscopy, Phase Contrast,Phase Contrast Microscopy,Phase-Contrast Microscopies
D004867 Equipment Design Methods and patterns of fabricating machines and related hardware. Design, Equipment,Device Design,Medical Device Design,Design, Medical Device,Designs, Medical Device,Device Design, Medical,Device Designs, Medical,Medical Device Designs,Design, Device,Designs, Device,Designs, Equipment,Device Designs,Equipment Designs
D005453 Fluorescence The property of emitting radiation while being irradiated. The radiation emitted is usually of longer wavelength than that incident or absorbed, e.g., a substance can be irradiated with invisible radiation and emit visible light. X-ray fluorescence is used in diagnosis.
D005456 Fluorescent Dyes Chemicals that emit light after excitation by light. The wave length of the emitted light is usually longer than that of the incident light. Fluorochromes are substances that cause fluorescence in other substances, i.e., dyes used to mark or label other compounds with fluorescent tags. Flourescent Agent,Fluorescent Dye,Fluorescent Probe,Fluorescent Probes,Fluorochrome,Fluorochromes,Fluorogenic Substrates,Fluorescence Agents,Fluorescent Agents,Fluorogenic Substrate,Agents, Fluorescence,Agents, Fluorescent,Dyes, Fluorescent,Probes, Fluorescent,Substrates, Fluorogenic
D005583 Fourier Analysis Analysis based on the mathematical function first formulated by Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Fourier in 1807. The function, known as the Fourier transform, describes the sinusoidal pattern of any fluctuating pattern in the physical world in terms of its amplitude and its phase. It has broad applications in biomedicine, e.g., analysis of the x-ray crystallography data pivotal in identifying the double helical nature of DNA and in analysis of other molecules, including viruses, and the modified back-projection algorithm universally used in computerized tomography imaging, etc. (From Segen, The Dictionary of Modern Medicine, 1992) Fourier Series,Fourier Transform,Analysis, Cyclic,Analysis, Fourier,Cyclic Analysis,Analyses, Cyclic,Cyclic Analyses,Series, Fourier,Transform, Fourier
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia

Related Publications

Alberto Bilenca, and Jing Cao, and Max Colice, and Aydogan Ozcan, and Brett Bouma, and Laurel Raftery, and Guillermo Tearney
July 2014, Cold Spring Harbor protocols,
Alberto Bilenca, and Jing Cao, and Max Colice, and Aydogan Ozcan, and Brett Bouma, and Laurel Raftery, and Guillermo Tearney
December 2012, Annales de pathologie,
Alberto Bilenca, and Jing Cao, and Max Colice, and Aydogan Ozcan, and Brett Bouma, and Laurel Raftery, and Guillermo Tearney
October 2019, Development (Cambridge, England),
Alberto Bilenca, and Jing Cao, and Max Colice, and Aydogan Ozcan, and Brett Bouma, and Laurel Raftery, and Guillermo Tearney
January 1993, Revista da Associacao Medica Brasileira (1992),
Alberto Bilenca, and Jing Cao, and Max Colice, and Aydogan Ozcan, and Brett Bouma, and Laurel Raftery, and Guillermo Tearney
January 1994, Annales de biologie clinique,
Alberto Bilenca, and Jing Cao, and Max Colice, and Aydogan Ozcan, and Brett Bouma, and Laurel Raftery, and Guillermo Tearney
April 1987, Photochemistry and photobiology,
Alberto Bilenca, and Jing Cao, and Max Colice, and Aydogan Ozcan, and Brett Bouma, and Laurel Raftery, and Guillermo Tearney
July 1987, Archives of pathology & laboratory medicine,
Alberto Bilenca, and Jing Cao, and Max Colice, and Aydogan Ozcan, and Brett Bouma, and Laurel Raftery, and Guillermo Tearney
April 2017, The journal of pathology. Clinical research,
Alberto Bilenca, and Jing Cao, and Max Colice, and Aydogan Ozcan, and Brett Bouma, and Laurel Raftery, and Guillermo Tearney
March 1990, Bailliere's clinical gastroenterology,
Alberto Bilenca, and Jing Cao, and Max Colice, and Aydogan Ozcan, and Brett Bouma, and Laurel Raftery, and Guillermo Tearney
January 2019, Genetics,
Copied contents to your clipboard!