Subcellular measurements of mechanical and chemical properties using dual Raman-Brillouin microspectroscopy

Brillouin microspectroscopy is a powerful technique for noninvasive optical imaging. In particular, Brillouin microspectroscopy uniquely allows assessing a sample's mechanical properties with microscopic spatial resolution. Recent advances in background-free Brillouin microspectroscopy make it possible to image scattering samples without substantial degradation of the data quality. However, measurements at the cellular- and subcellular-level have never been performed to date due to the limited signal strength. In this report, by adopting our recently optimized VIPA-based Brillouin spectrometer, we probed the microscopic viscoelasticity of individual red blood cells. These measurements were supplemented by chemically specific measurements using Raman microspectroscopy.