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High-magnification super-resolution FINCH microscopy using birefringent crystal lens interferometers

Abstract

Fresnel incoherent correlation holography (FINCH) microscopy is a promising approach for high-resolution biological imaging but has so far been limited to use with low-magnification, low-numerical-aperture configurations. We report the use of in-line incoherent interferometers made from uniaxial birefringent α-barium borate (α-BBO) or calcite crystals that overcome the aberrations and distortions present with previous implementations that employed spatial light modulators or gradient refractive index lenses. FINCH microscopy incorporating these birefringent elements and high-numerical-aperture oil immersion objectives could outperform standard wide-field fluorescence microscopy, with, for example, a 149 nm lateral point spread function at a wavelength of 590 nm. Enhanced resolution was confirmed with sub-resolution fluorescent beads. Taking the Golgi apparatus as a biological example, three different proteins labelled with GFP and two other fluorescent dyes in HeLa cells were resolved with an image quality that is comparable to similar samples captured by structured illumination microscopy.

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Figure 1: Conceptual schematic of a FINCH microscope.
Figure 2: Optical arrangement of birefringent lens incoherent interferometers.
Figure 3: Holograms from a birefringent lens-based calcite and GRIN lens FINCH system after expanded laser beam illumination.
Figure 4: Resolution comparison of wide-field and α-BBO FINCH imaging of fluorescent beads.
Figure 5: Comparative imaging of three different Golgi apparatus proteins in HeLa cells by wide-field and α-BBO FINCH.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by CellOptic, Inc. and the National Institutes of Health under National Cancer Institute Award Number R44CA192299 and National Institute of General Medical Sciences Award Number U54GM105814. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Patents have been applied for. We thank M. Bruce and M. Butte for assistance with the deconvolution.

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Contributions

G.B. and N.S. designed and developed the concept for the birefringent lens interferometer and its implementation into the FINCH microscope, produced the hardware and software, conducted the FINCH and wide-field experiments and wrote the manuscript. V.L. prepared the HeLa cell immunolabelled fluorescent samples and took the image using the commercial SIM microscope shown in Supplementary Fig. 2. B.S. and V.L. provided various fluorescently labelled Golgi proteins in live cells and fixed samples during the course of this research that were important in the development of this new microscope. G.B. organized and supervised this work.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gary Brooker.

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Competing interests

The FINCH technology used in the study is owned by CellOptic, Inc. Additionally, this work was funded in part by CellOptic, Inc. G.B. is the founder of CellOptic, Inc., owns equity in the company and serves as the company's president and CEO. This arrangement has been reviewed and approved by the Johns Hopkins University in accordance with its conflict of interest policies. N.S. receives support from CellOptic, Inc. and B.S. is a consultant for CellOptic, Inc.

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Siegel, N., Lupashin, V., Storrie, B. et al. High-magnification super-resolution FINCH microscopy using birefringent crystal lens interferometers. Nature Photon 10, 802–808 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2016.207

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