Digital holography of total internal reflection for quantitative phase microscopy of cell-substrate adhesion

University Of South Florida, Tampa FL

Investigators

Abstract

CBET-0755705, Kim The broad objective of the proposal is to develop and investigate a new form of optical microscopy called total internal reflection digital holographic microscopy (TIRHM), for use in imaging cell-substrate interactions. The work is broken down into three specific aims: (1) Construction of the microscope and design of the associated algorithms for holographic reconstruction, (2) Characterization and optimization of the microscope, and (3) Application to cellular imaging experiments. The research aims at developing a microscopy system that can be an effective tool for imaging cell-substrate interactions. The development of such a device would have numerous important applications in bioengineering and biology. The design of the proposed microscope appears to be novel. The goal of TIRHM is to exploit the wavefield phase shift that is introduced by frustrated total internal reflection. Unlike the existing interference reflection microscopy method, the proposed method holds the potential of producing quantitative surface profile images of live cellular membranes.