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Updated: Sep 20, 2025

Lensless On-chip Imaging of Cells Provides a New Tool for High-throughput Cell-Biology and Medical Diagnostics
Published on: December 14, 2009
Microlens-assisted microscopy for biology and medicine
Anna Trukhova1, Marina Pavlova1, Olga Sinitsyna2
1Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia.
Abstract:
The addition of dielectric transparent microlens in the optical scheme is an effective and at the same time simple and inexpensive way to increase the resolution of a light microscope. For these purposes, spherical and cylindrical microlenses with a diameter of 1-100 μm are usually used. The microlens focuses the light into a narrow beam called a photonic nanojet. An enlarged virtual image is formed, which is captured by the objective of the light microscope. In addition to microscopy, the microlenses are successfully applied to amplify optical signals, increase the trapping force of optical tweezers and are used in microsurgery. This review considers the design and principle of microlens-assisted microscopes. Taking into account the advantages of the super-resolution optical methods for research in life science, the examples of the use of the microlenses in biomedical practice are discussed in detail.
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