1
|
La Cavera S, Chauhan VM, Hardiman W, Yao M, Fuentes-Domínguez R, Setchfield K, Abayzeed SA, Pérez-Cota F, Smith RJ, Clark M. Label-free Brillouin endo-microscopy for the quantitative 3D imaging of sub-micrometre biology. Commun Biol 2024; 7:451. [PMID: 38622287 PMCID: PMC11018753 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06126-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024] Open
Abstract
This report presents an optical fibre-based endo-microscopic imaging tool that simultaneously measures the topographic profile and 3D viscoelastic properties of biological specimens through the phenomenon of time-resolved Brillouin scattering. This uses the intrinsic viscoelasticity of the specimen as a contrast mechanism without fluorescent tags or photoacoustic contrast mechanisms. We demonstrate 2 μm lateral resolution and 320 nm axial resolution for the 3D imaging of biological cells and Caenorhabditis elegans larvae. This has enabled the first ever 3D stiffness imaging and characterisation of the C. elegans larva cuticle in-situ. A label-free, subcellular resolution, and endoscopic compatible technique that reveals structural biologically-relevant material properties of tissue could pave the way toward in-vivo elasticity-based diagnostics down to the single cell level.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Salvatore La Cavera
- Optics and Photonics Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
| | - Veeren M Chauhan
- Advanced Materials & Healthcare Technologies, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
| | - William Hardiman
- Optics and Photonics Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Mengting Yao
- Optics and Photonics Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Rafael Fuentes-Domínguez
- Optics and Photonics Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Kerry Setchfield
- Optics and Photonics Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Sidahmed A Abayzeed
- Optics and Photonics Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Fernando Pérez-Cota
- Optics and Photonics Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Richard J Smith
- Optics and Photonics Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Matt Clark
- Optics and Photonics Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Fotiadi A, Rafailov E, Korobko D, Mégret P, Bykov A, Meglinski I. Brillouin Interaction between Two Optical Modes Selectively Excited in Weakly Guiding Multimode Optical Fibers. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 23:1715. [PMID: 36772756 PMCID: PMC9919090 DOI: 10.3390/s23031715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
A multimode optical fiber supports excitation and propagation of a pure single optical mode, i.e., the field pattern that satisfies the boundary conditions and does not change along the fiber. When two counterpropagating pure optical modes are excited, they could interact through the stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) process. Here, we present a simple theoretical formalism describing SBS interaction between two individual optical modes selectively excited in an acoustically isotropic multimode optical fiber. Employing a weakly guiding step-index fiber approach, we have built an analytical expression for the spatial distribution of the sound field amplitude in the fiber core and explored the features of SBS gain spectra, describing the interaction between modes of different orders. In this way, we give a clear insight into the sound propagation effects accompanying SBS in multimode optical fibers, and demonstrate their specific contributions to the SBS gain spectrum.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrei Fotiadi
- Optoelectronics and Measurement Techniques Unit, University of Oulu, 90570 Oulu, Finland
- Electromagnetism and Telecommunication Department, University of Mons, B-7000 Mons, Belgium
| | - Edik Rafailov
- Optoelectronics and Biomedical Photonics Group, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK
| | - Dmitry Korobko
- S.P. Kapitsa Scientific Technological Research Institute, Ulyanovsk State University, 42 Leo Tolstoy Str., 432970 Ulyanovsk, Russia
| | - Patrice Mégret
- Electromagnetism and Telecommunication Department, University of Mons, B-7000 Mons, Belgium
| | - Alexander Bykov
- Optoelectronics and Measurement Techniques Unit, University of Oulu, 90570 Oulu, Finland
| | - Igor Meglinski
- Optoelectronics and Measurement Techniques Unit, University of Oulu, 90570 Oulu, Finland
- Optoelectronics and Biomedical Photonics Group, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
La Cavera S, Pérez-Cota F, Smith RJ, Clark M. Phonon imaging in 3D with a fibre probe. LIGHT, SCIENCE & APPLICATIONS 2021; 10:91. [PMID: 33907178 PMCID: PMC8079419 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-021-00532-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2020] [Revised: 03/30/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
We show for the first time that a single ultrasonic imaging fibre is capable of simultaneously accessing 3D spatial information and mechanical properties from microscopic objects. The novel measurement system consists of two ultrafast lasers that excite and detect high-frequency ultrasound from a nano-transducer that was fabricated onto the tip of a single-mode optical fibre. A signal processing technique was also developed to extract nanometric in-depth spatial measurements from GHz frequency acoustic waves, while still allowing Brillouin spectroscopy in the frequency domain. Label-free and non-contact imaging performance was demonstrated on various polymer microstructures. This singular device is equipped with optical lateral resolution, 2.5 μm, and a depth-profiling precision of 45 nm provided by acoustics. The endoscopic potential for this device is exhibited by extrapolating the single fibre to tens of thousands of fibres in an imaging bundle. Such a device catalyses future phonon endomicroscopy technology that brings the prospect of label-free in vivo histology within reach.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Salvatore La Cavera
- Optics and Photonics Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
| | - Fernando Pérez-Cota
- Optics and Photonics Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Richard J Smith
- Optics and Photonics Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Matt Clark
- Optics and Photonics Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Xiang Y, Basirun C, Chou J, Warkiani ME, Török P, Wang Y, Gao S, Kabakova IV. Background-free fibre optic Brillouin probe for remote mapping of micromechanics. BIOMEDICAL OPTICS EXPRESS 2020; 11:6687-6698. [PMID: 33282517 PMCID: PMC7687937 DOI: 10.1364/boe.404535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2020] [Revised: 10/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/14/2020] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Brillouin imaging (BI) has become a valuable tool for micromechanical material characterisation, thanks to extensive progress in instrumentation in the last few decades. This powerful technique is contactless and label-free, thus making it especially suitable for biomedical applications. Nonetheless, to fully harness the non-contact and non-destructive nature of BI, transformational changes in instrumentation are still needed to extend the technology's utility into the domain of in vivo and in situ operation, which we foresee to be particularly crucial for wide spread usage of BI, e.g. in medical diagnostics and pathology screening. This work addresses this challenge by presenting the first demonstration of a fibre-optic Brillouin probe, capable of mapping the micromechanical properties of a tissue-mimicking phantom. This is achieved through combination of miniaturised optical design, advanced hollow-core fibre fabrication and high-resolution 3D printing. Our prototype probe is compact, background-free and possesses the highest collection efficiency to date, thus providing the foundation of a fibre-based Brillouin device for remote, in situ measurements in challenging and otherwise difficult-to-reach environments in biomedical, material science and industrial applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- YuChen Xiang
- Department of Physics, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2BW, UK
| | - Carin Basirun
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and IT, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
| | - Joshua Chou
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and IT, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
| | - Majid E. Warkiani
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and IT, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
| | - Peter Török
- Department of Physics, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2BW, UK
- Nanyang Technological University, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, 637371, Singapore
| | - Yingying Wang
- Institute of Photonics Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China
| | - Shoufei Gao
- Institute of Photonics Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China
| | - Irina V. Kabakova
- School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
| |
Collapse
|