CPM Seminar

Characterizing cell-to-surface interactions at the nanoscale by back-focal-plane microscopy for biosensing and nanoparticle delivery

Lucien Weiss

Département de génie physique
Polytechnique Montréal

The propensity of cells to interact with nanomaterials has broad applications for diagnostics and therapies. Due to the small spatial scales and dynamic behaviors of live samples, precisely characterizing the nature of these interactions is challenging. The lack of detailed data hinders a rational-design approach for new materials. Here, we present how a standard fluorescence microscope can be re-engineered in the back focal plane to meet this gap. Specifically, we demonstrate two approaches: 3D particle tracking by point-spread-function engineering and nearfield refractometry by supercritical-angle fluorescence microscopy. The main advantage of our approach is that it can yield information on the scale of tens of nanometers while being intrinsically compatible with live-cell imaging.