Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 8, 2026

Biomolecular Imaging of Cellular Uptake of Nanoparticles using Multimodal Nonlinear Optical Microscopy
Published on: May 16, 2022
Near-infrared non-contact microsphere microscope for contrast-enhanced optical nano-imaging
Abstract:
Suffering from the background light scattering, the imaging contrast of a microsphere microscope is relatively low. In this paper, a near-infrared (NIR) microsphere microscope is proposed to enhance the imaging contrast. The imaging contrast is evaluated using different objective lenses at different microsphere diameters. The utilization of microspheres enhances the resolution of NIR objectives, enabling the distinction of structures with ∼220nm gaps. A far-field intensity distribution simulation is used to explain the reduced off-axis scattering under NIR illumination, and a modified refractive index theory considering the wave-optics effects in microspheres is utilized to analyze the NIR imaging performance. The proposed NIR microsphere microscope significantly improves the imaging contrast and the nanoscale imaging capability of the NIR optical microscope, with the average contrast ratio increasing from 8.0% to 16.8%, thereby broadening its applications across a range of scientific and technological fields.
Related Concept Videos
Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy
In optical microscopy, the specimen to be viewed is placed on a glass slide and clipped on the stage...
Phase Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy
In-phase-contrast microscopes, interference between light directly passing through a cell and light refracted by cellular components is used to create high-contrast, high-resolution images without staining. It is the oldest and simplest type of microscope that creates an image by altering the wavelengths of light rays passing through the specimen. Altered wavelength paths are created using an annular stop in the condenser. The annular stop produces a hollow cone of...
Super-resolution Fluorescence Microscopy
Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy
Overview of Microscopy Techniques
Three-Dimensional Microscopy in Microbiology

