Open AccessMultiFocus Polarization Microscope (MF-PolScope) for 3D polarization imaging of up to 25 focal planes simultaneously
Author(s) -
Sara Abrahamsson,
Molly McQuilken,
Shalin B. Mehta,
Amitabh Verma,
Johannes Larsch,
Rob Ilic,
Rainer Heintzmann,
Cornelia I. Bargmann,
Amy S. Gladfelter,
Rudolf Oldenbourg
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.23.007734
Subject(s) - optics , polarization (electrochemistry) , microscopy , cardinal point , biological imaging , materials science , microscope , anisotropy , physics , chemistry , fluorescence
We have developed an imaging system for 3D time-lapse polarization microscopy of living biological samples. Polarization imaging reveals the position, alignment and orientation of submicroscopic features in label-free as well as fluorescently labeled specimens. Optical anisotropies are calculated from a series of images where the sample is illuminated by light of different polarization states. Due to the number of images necessary to collect both multiple polarization states and multiple focal planes, 3D polarization imaging is most often prohibitively slow. Our MF-PolScope system employs multifocus optics to form an instantaneous 3D image of up to 25 simultaneous focal-planes. We describe this optical system and show examples of 3D multi-focus polarization imaging of biological samples, including a protein assembly study in budding yeast cells.