Spectroscopic analysis of the sum-frequency response of the carbon-hydrogen stretching modes in collagen type I.

We studied the origin of the vibrational signatures in the sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectrum of fibrillar collagen type I in the carbon-hydrogen stretching regime. For this purpose, we developed an all-reflective, laser-scanning SFG microscope with minimum chromatic aberrations and excellent retention of the polarization state of the incident beams. We performed detailed SFG measurements of aligned collagen fibers obtained from rat tail tendon, enabling the characterization of the magnitude and polarization-orientation dependence of individual tensor elements Xijk2 of collagen's nonlinear susceptibility. Using the three-dimensional atomic positions derived from published crystallographic data of collagen type I, we simulated its Xijk2 elements for the methylene stretching vibration and compared the predicted response with the experimental results. Our analysis revealed that the carbon-hydrogen stretching range of the SFG spectrum is dominated by symmetric stretching modes of methylene bridge groups on the pyrrolidine rings of the proline and hydroxyproline residues, giving rise to a dominant peak near 2942 cm-1 and a shoulder at 2917 cm-1. Weak asymmetric stretches of the methylene bridge group of glycine are observed in the region near 2870 cm-1, whereas asymmetric CH2-stretching modes on the pyrrolidine rings are found in the 2980 to 3030 cm-1 range. These findings help predict the protein's nonlinear optical properties from its crystal structure, thus establishing a connection between the protein structure and SFG spectroscopic measurements.

Photon-Momentum-Enabled Electronic Raman Scattering in Silicon Glass.

The nature of enhanced photoemission in disordered and amorphous solids is an intriguing question. A point in case is light emission in porous and nanostructured silicon, a phenomenon that is still not fully understood. In this work, we study structural photoemission in heterogeneous cross-linked silicon glass, a material that represents an intermediate state between the amorphous and crystalline phases, characterized by a narrow distribution of structure sizes. This model system shows a clear dependence of photoemission on size and disorder across a broad range of energies. While phonon-assisted indirect optical transitions are insufficient to describe observable emissions, our experiments suggest these can be understood through electronic Raman scattering instead. This phenomenon, which is not commonly observed in crystalline semiconductors, is driven by structural disorder. We attribute photoemission in this disordered system to the presence of an excess electron density of states within the forbidden gap (Urbach bridge) where electrons occupy trapped states. Transitions from gap states to the conduction band are facilitated through electron-photon momentum matching, which resembles Compton scattering but is observed for visible light and driven by the enhanced momentum of a photon confined within the nanostructured domains. We interpret the light emission in structured silicon glass as resulting from electronic Raman scattering. These findings emphasize the role of photon momentum in the optical response of solids that display disorder on the nanoscale.

Modeling nonlinear optical microscopy in scattering media, part I. Propagation from lens to focal volume: tutorial.

The development and application of nonlinear optical (NLO) microscopy methods in biomedical research have experienced rapid growth over the past three decades. Despite the compelling power of these methods, optical scattering limits their practical use in biological tissues. This tutorial offers a model-based approach illustrating how analytical methods from classical electromagnetism can be employed to comprehensively model NLO microscopy in scattering media. In Part I, we quantitatively model focused beam propagation in non-scattering and scattering media from the lens to focal volume. In Part II, we model signal generation, radiation, and far-field detection. Moreover, we detail modeling approaches for major optical microscopy modalities including classical fluorescence, multi-photon fluorescence, second harmonic generation, and coherent anti-Stokes Raman microscopy.

Modeling nonlinear optical microscopy in scattering media, part II. Radiation from focal volume to far-field: tutorial.

The development and application of nonlinear optical (NLO) microscopy methods in biomedical research has experienced rapid growth over the past three decades. Despite the compelling power of these methods, optical scattering limits their practical use in biological tissues. This tutorial offers a model-based approach illustrating how analytical methods from classical electromagnetism can be employed to comprehensively model NLO microscopy in scattering media. In Part I, we quantitatively model focused beam propagation in non-scattering and scattering media from the lens to focal volume. In Part II, we model signal generation, radiation, and far-field detection. Moreover, we detail modeling approaches for major optical microscopy modalities including classical fluorescence, multi-photon fluorescence, second harmonic generation, and coherent anti-Stokes Raman microscopy.

Light-Controlled Multiphase Structuring of Perovskite Crystal Enabled by Thermoplasmonic Metasurface.

Halide perovskites belong to an important family of semiconducting materials with electronic properties that enable a myriad of applications, especially in photovoltaics and optoelectronics. Their optical properties, including photoluminescence quantum yield, are affected and notably enhanced at crystal imperfections where the symmetry is broken and the density of states increases. These lattice distortions can be introduced through structural phase transitions, allowing charge gradients to appear near the interfaces between phase structures. In this work, we demonstrate controlled multiphase structuring in a single perovskite crystal. The concept uses cesium lead bromine (CsPbBr3) placed on a thermoplasmonic TiN/Si metasurface and enables single-, double-, and triple-phase structures to form on demand above room temperature. This approach promises application horizons of dynamically controlled heterostructures with distinctive electronic and enhanced optical properties.

Enhancing Alkyne-Based Raman Tags with a Sulfur Linker.

Alkyne-based Raman tags have proven their utility for biological imaging. Although the alkynyl stretching mode is a relatively strong Raman scatterer, the detection sensitivity of alkyne-tagged compounds is ultimately limited by the magnitude of the probe's Raman response. In order to improve the performance of alkyne-based Raman probes, we have designed several tags that benefit from π-π conjugation as well as from additional n-π conjugation with a sulfur linker. We show that the sulfur linker provides additional enhancement and line width narrowing, offering a simple yet effective strategy for improving alkyne-based Raman tags. We validate the utility of various sulfur-linked alkyne tags for cellular imaging through stimulated Raman scattering microscopy.

Spectral imaging at high definition and high speed in the mid-infrared.

Spectral imaging in the mid-infrared (MIR) range provides simultaneous morphological and chemical information of a wide variety of samples. However, current MIR technologies struggle to produce high-definition images over a broad spectral range at acquisition rates that are compatible with real-time processes. We present a novel spectral imaging technique based on nondegenerate two-photon absorption of temporally chirped optical MIR pulses. This approach avoids complex image processing or reconstruction and enables high-speed acquisition of spectral data cubes (xyω) at high-pixel density in under a second.

Direct detection of photoinduced magnetic force at the nanoscale reveals magnetic nearfield of structured light.

We demonstrate experimentally the detection of magnetic force at optical frequencies, defined as the dipolar Lorentz force exerted on a photoinduced magnetic dipole excited by the magnetic component of light. Historically, this magnetic force has been considered elusive since, at optical frequencies, magnetic effects are usually overshadowed by the interaction of the electric component of light, making it difficult to recognize the direct magnetic force from the dominant electric forces. To overcome this challenge, we develop a photoinduced magnetic force characterization method that exploits a magnetic nanoprobe under structured light illumination. This approach enables the direct detection of the magnetic force, revealing the magnetic nearfield distribution at the nanoscale, while maximally suppressing its electric counterpart. The proposed method opens up new avenues for nanoscopy based on optical magnetic contrast, offering a research tool for all-optical spin control and optomagnetic manipulation of matter at the nanoscale.

Enhancement of Molecular Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering with Silicon Nanoantennas.

Surface-enhanced coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (SE-CARS) takes advantage of surface plasmon resonances supported on metallic nanostructures to amplify the coherent Raman response of target molecules. While these metallic antennas have found significant success in SE-CARS studies, photoinduced morphological changes to the nanoantenna under ultrafast excitation introduce significant hurdles in terms of stability and reproducilibty. These hurdles need to be overcome in order to establish SE-CARS as a reliable tool for rapid biomolecular sensing. Here, we address this challenge by performing molecular CARS measurements enhanced by nanoantennas made from high-index dielectric particles with more favorable thermal properties. We present the first experimental demonstration of enhanced molecular CARS signals observed at Si nanoantennas, which offer much improved thermal stability compared to their metallic counterparts.

Photo-induced force microscopy (PiFM) - principles and implementations.

Photo-induced force microscopy (PiFM) is a scan probe technique that offers images with spectroscopic contrast at a spatial resolution in the nanometer range. PiFM utilizes the non-propagating, enhanced near field at the apex of a sharp tip to locally induce a polarization in the sample, which in turn produces an additional force acting on the cantilevered tip. This photo-induced force, though in the pN range or less, can be extracted from the oscillation properties of the cantilever, thus enabling the generation of photo-induced force maps. Since its inception in 2010, the PiFM technique has grown into a useful nano-spectrocopic tool that has expanded its reach in terms of imaging capabilities and applications. In this review, we present various technical implementations of the PiFM approach. In addition, we discuss the physical origin of the PiFM signal, highlighting the contributions from dipole-dipole forces as well as forces that derive from photo-thermal processes.

Protocol for rapid ammonia detection via surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

As a key industrial nitrogenous product and a critical environmental pollutant, ammonia broadly affects our daily lives. Rapid and sensitive detection of ammonia is essential to both environmental monitoring and process control for industrial manufacturing. Here, we present a protocol for rapid detection of low amounts of ammonia in the aqueous phase, via surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. We believe the mechanism and speed of the approach demonstrate its potential toward applications in operando electrochemical catalysis and in situ ammonia detection. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Liu et al. (2020).

Coherent Raman scattering microscopy: capable solution in search of a larger audience.

SIGNIFICANCE: Coherent Raman scattering (CRS) microscopy is an optical imaging technique with capabilities that could benefit a broad range of biomedical research studies. AIM: We reflect on the birth, rapid rise, and inescapable growing pains of the technique and look back on nearly four decades of developments to examine where the CRS imaging approach might be headed in the next decade to come. APPROACH: We provide a brief historical account of CRS microscopy, followed by a discussion of the challenges to disseminate the technique to a larger audience. We then highlight recent progress in expanding the capabilities of the CRS microscope and assess its current appeal as a practical imaging tool. RESULTS: New developments in Raman tagging have improved the specificity and sensitivity of the CRS technique. In addition, technical advances have led to CRS microscopes that can capture hyperspectral data cubes at practical acquisition times. These improvements have broadened the application space of the technique. CONCLUSION: The technical performance of the CRS microscope has improved dramatically since its inception, but these advances have not yet translated into a substantial user base beyond a strong core of enthusiasts. Nonetheless, new developments are poised to move the unique capabilities of the technique into the hands of more users.

Non-linear optical imaging of atherosclerotic plaques in the context of SIV and HIV infection prominently detects crystalline cholesterol esters.

Chronic HIV infection may exacerbate atherosclerotic vascular disease, which at advanced stages presents as necrotic plaques rich in crystalline cholesterol. Such lesions can catastrophically rupture precipitating myocardial infarct and stroke, now important causes of mortality in those living with HIV. However, in this population little is known about plaque structure relative to crystalline content and its chemical composition. Here, we first interrogated plaque crystal structure and composition in atherosclerotic SIV-infected macaques using non-linear optical microscopy. By stimulated Raman scattering and second harmonic generation approaches both amorphous and crystalline plaque lipid was detected and the crystal spectral profile indicated a cholesterol ester (CE) dominated composition. Versus controls, SIV+ samples had a greater number of cholesterol crystals (CCs), with the difference, in part, accounted for by crystals of a smaller length. Given the ester finding, we profiled HIV+ plaques and also observed a CE crystalline spectral signature. We further profiled plaques from Ldlr-/- mice fed a high fat diet, and likewise, found CE-dominate crystals. Finally, macrophage exposure to CCs or AcLDL induced auto-fluorescent puncta that co-stained with the LC3B autophagy sensor. In aggregate, we show that atheromatous plaques from mice, macaques and humans, display necrotic cores dominated by esterified CCs, and that plaque macrophages may induce autophagic vesicle formation upon encountering CCs. These findings help inform our knowledge of plaque core lipid evolution and how the process may incite systemic inflammation.

Rapid chemically selective 3D imaging in the mid-infrared.

The emerging technique of mid-infrared optical coherence tomography (MIR-OCT) takes advantage of the reduced scattering of MIR light in various materials and devices, enabling tomographic imaging at deeper penetration depths. Because of challenges in MIR detection technology, the image acquisition time is, however, significantly longer than for tomographic imaging methods in the visible/near-infrared. Here we demonstrate an alternative approach to MIR tomography with high-speed imaging capabilities. Through femtosecond nondegenerate two-photon absorption of MIR light in a conventional Si-based CCD camera, we achieve wide-field, high-definition tomographic imaging with chemical selectivity of structured materials and biological samples in mere seconds.

High-speed 2D and 3D mid-IR imaging with an InGaAs camera.

Recent work on mid-infrared (MIR) detection through the process of non-degenerate two-photon absorption (NTA) in semiconducting materials has shown that wide-field MIR imaging can be achieved with standard Si cameras. While this approach enables MIR imaging at high pixel densities, the low nonlinear absorption coefficient of Si prevents fast NTA-based imaging at lower illumination doses. Here, we overcome this limitation by using InGaAs as the photosensor. Taking advantage of the much higher nonlinear absorption coefficient of this direct bandgap semiconductor, we demonstrate high-speed MIR imaging up to 500 fps with under 1 ms exposure per frame, enabling 2D or 3D mapping without pre- or post-processing of the image.

Photosensitizer delivery by fibrin glue: potential for bypassing the blood-brain barrier.

Fibrin glue (FG) has potential as a delivery vehicle for photosensitizer directly to the resection cavity, so it may bypass the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and increase the concentration of successfully delivered photosensitizer. A specialized form of photodynamic therapy (PDT), photochemical internalization (PCI), which involves both photosensitizer and chemotherapeutic agent internalization, can locally inhibit the growth of cells. This will allow the reduction of recurrence of malignant gliomas around surgical resection. This study will look at the efficacy of FG loaded with drugs in mediating both PDT and PCI in inhibiting 3-dimensional tumor spheroid growth in vitro. Experiments were conducted on spheroids comprised of F98 glioma cells using photosensitizer AlPcS2a and chemotherapeutic drug bleomycin (BLM). At 2-, 24-, 48-, and 72-h increments, supernatant covering an FG layer within a well was collected and replaced by fresh medium, then added to spheroid-containing wells, which contained the respective chemicals for PDT and PCI. The wells were then exposed to light treatment from a diode laser, and after, spheroid growth was monitored for a period of 14 days. Significant spheroid growth inhibition was observed in both PDT and PCI modalities, but was far greater in PCI. Additionally, complete growth suppression was achieved via PCI at the highest radiant exposure. Achieving a slow photosensitizer release, significant F98 spheroid inhibition was observed in FG-mediated PDT and PCI. The present study showed BLM-PCI was the most efficacious of the two modalities.

Facile All-Optical Method for In Situ Detection of Low Amounts of Ammonia.

As a key precursor for nitrogenous compounds and fertilizer, ammonia affects our lives in numerous ways. Rapid and sensitive detection of ammonia is essential, both in environmental monitoring and in process control for industrial production. Here we report a novel and nonperturbative method that allows rapid detection of ammonia at low concentrations, based on the all-optical detection of surface-enhanced Raman signals. We show that this simple and affordable approach enables ammonia probing at selected regions of interest with high spatial resolution, making in situ and operando observations possible.

Kinetic Analysis of Lipid Metabolism in Breast Cancer Cells via Nonlinear Optical Microscopy.

Investigating the behavior of breast cancer cells via reaction kinetics may help unravel the mechanisms that underlie metabolic changes in tumors. However, obtaining human in vivo kinetic data is challenging because of difficulties associated with measuring these parameters. Nondestructive methods of measuring lipid content in live cells provide a novel approach to quantitatively model lipid synthesis and consumption. In this study, coherent Raman scattering microscopy was used to probe de novo intracellular lipid content. Combining nonlinear optical microscopy and Michaelis-Menten kinetics-based simulations, we isolated fatty acid synthesis/consumption rates and elucidated effects of altered lipid metabolism in T47D breast cancer cells. When treated with 17ß-estradiol, the lipid utilization in cancer cells jumped by twofold. Meanwhile, the rate of de novo lipid synthesis in cancer cells treated with 17ß-estradiol was increased by 42%. To test the model in extreme metabolic conditions, we treated T47D cells with etomoxir. Our kinetic analysis demonstrated that the rate of key enzymatic reactions dropped by 75%. These results underline the capability to probe lipid alterations in live cells with minimum interruption and to characterize lipid metabolism in breast cancer cells via quantitative kinetic models and parameters.

Infrared chemical imaging through non-degenerate two-photon absorption in silicon-based cameras.

Chemical imaging based on mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopic contrast is an important technique with a myriad of applications, including biomedical imaging and environmental monitoring. Current MIR cameras, however, lack performance and are much less affordable than mature Si-based devices, which operate in the visible and near-infrared regions. Here, we demonstrate fast MIR chemical imaging through non-degenerate two-photon absorption (NTA) in a standard Si-based charge-coupled device (CCD). We show that wide-field MIR images can be obtained at 100 ms exposure times using picosecond pulse energies of only a few femtojoules per pixel through NTA directly on the CCD chip. Because this on-chip approach does not rely on phase matching, it is alignment-free and does not necessitate complex postprocessing of the images. We emphasize the utility of this technique through chemically selective MIR imaging of polymers and biological samples, including MIR videos of moving targets, physical processes and live nematodes.