New Brillouin Microscopy Technique Revolutionizes Life Sciences Research

Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) have unveiled a groundbreaking advancement in microscopy, set to transform the field of life sciences. This new methodology dramatically enhances the capabilities of Brillouin microscopy, offering a significant boost in speed, throughput, and the ability to study light-sensitive biological samples.

Understanding Brillouin Microscopy

The technology harnesses a principle first described by French physicist Léon Brillouin in 1922. When light interacts with materials, it can exchange energy with natural thermal vibrations within the material, causing a slight shift in the light’s frequency or color. This phenomenon, known as Brillouin scattering, can reveal detailed information about a material’s mechanical properties.

Brillouin microscopy uses this principle to measure the mechanical properties of biological samples with great precision. However, early applications were hampered by slow image acquisition, limiting their utility in biological research. Improvements in technology over the past two decades have allowed for more precise measurements, but the process remained time-consuming.

EMBL’s Revolutionary Breakthrough

Carlo Bevilacqua, an optical engineer in EMBL’s Prevedel Team and lead author of the study published in Nature Photonics, led the effort to accelerate Brillouin microscopy. According to Bevilacqua, their objective was to enhance image acquisition speed. “We were on a quest to speed up image acquisition,” he explained. “Over the years, we have progressed from being able to see just a pixel at a time to a line of 100 pixels, and now to a full plane that offers a view of approximately 10,000 pixels.”

The Significance of Speed and Detail

This leap forward means a 1,000-fold improvement in speed and throughput, making the technique much more practical for studying live biological samples. The enhanced resolution and speed are particularly beneficial for studying delicate, light-sensitive organisms. Scientists can now capture detailed images without risking phototoxic damage, ensuring more accurate and comprehensive data.

Visualizing the Technological Breakthrough

The technique utilizes a custom-made imaging Fourier-transform spectrometer to capture the scattered light. By allowing entire light sheets to interact with 3D biological samples, this approach reveals a comprehensive view of the sample’s mechanical properties more rapidly than ever before.

Building on Earlier Developments

Previous advancements in the field laid the groundwork for this technology. In 2000, scientists began to use Brillouin scattering for microscopy, thanks to technological improvements that enabled high-precision frequency shifts measurements. However, these early methods were limited to viewing only one pixel at a time, making the process impractical for most biological applications.

Building on these foundations, EMBL researchers expanded the field of view to lines in 2022. The latest development extends this capability to full 2D fields, significantly speeding up 3D imaging. This breakthrough has the potential to open up new avenues of research in mechanical imaging, rivaling the impact of light-sheet microscopy in reducing phototoxicity and enhancing imaging quality.

The Future of Life Sciences Research

Robert Prevedel, PhD, the group leader and senior author of the paper, emphasizes the transformative nature of this new technology. “Just as the development of light-sheet microscopy here at EMBL marked a revolution in light microscopy because it allowed for faster, high-resolution, and minimally phototoxic imaging of biological samples, so too does this advance in the area of mechanical or Brillouin imaging,” he stated.

Prevedel believes this new technology will open additional avenues for life scientists to explore. By using minimal light intensity, the technique preserves the integrity of biological samples, enabling more in-depth studies of their mechanical properties under natural conditions.

Conclusion

The novel Brillouin microscopy technique developed by EMBL researchers represents a significant step forward in life sciences research. By improving speed and throughput, it addresses key challenges associated with traditional Brillouin microscopy, making it more feasible for a wide range of applications in biological studies. This breakthrough underscores the ongoing efforts in optical engineering to enhance our understanding of biological systems at a deeper, more precise level.

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