Biological super-resolution imaging using high-index microspheres for cancer research application

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant Optical microscopy is the most commonly used imaging technique in life and material sciences however the spatial resolution of any standard microscope is fundamentally limited by the diffraction of light waves which for visible light restricts spatial resolution to nm Surpassing the diffraction limit significantly impacts several disciplines such as medical and material sciences microfluidics and nanophotonics and therefore has been the subject of considerable research effort Several imaging techniques based on near field scanning probes and various fluorescent based schemes have been developed in the past to overcome the diffraction limit These techniques however are associated with a complex design and high economic cost and require dedicated equipment and scanning across the specimen that increases the image acquisition time furthermore near field scanning leads to significant loss of optical throughput and fluorescent based methods are applicable only to specimens that are decorated with fluorophores We have focused on developing a simple generic super resolution imaging method Specifically we recently demonstrated feasibility of imaging biological and photonic structures with resolution improvement by a factor of by using novel super resolution microscope slides SRMS composed of a monolayer array of microspheres with high index of refraction fixed in a transparent elastomer layer The slides are simply placed over the specimen under investigation as a coverslip to increase the image spatial resolution of a standard microscope The objective of this proposal by SphereVis is toward the development of low cost technologies for global health by developing the technology of mass fabrication of optimized novel super resolution microscope slides as a commercial product The proposed SRMS provides medical science researchers with a new tool for cancer biology research and has a broad range of applications allowing super resolution imaging of biological metallic and semiconductor structures We will design and fabricate SRMS and characterize their imaging properties i e resolution gain magnification and field of view for different schemes of SRMS to optimize the design parameters for application in H AX assay of proton irradiated V and U cancer cell lines PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE Microscopic imaging has traditionally been constrained by the diffraction limit which for visible light restricts spatial resolution to nm Surpassing thislimit would significantly benefit several disciplines such as medical and material sciences Our company SphereVis LLC has developed a simple generic super resolution method for biological and photonic structures that provides two to three fold enhancement in spatial resolution