Coherent light imaging and scattering for biological investigations

Abstract

Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) of live cells has received significant scientific interest over the past decade or so, mainly because it offers structure and dynamics information at the nanometer scale in a completely noninvasive manner. Fourier transform light scattering (FTLS) relies on quantifying the optical phase and amplitude associated with a coherent image field and propagating it numerically to the scattering plane. It combines optical microscopy, holography, and light scattering for studying inhomogeneous and dynamic media. We present recent developments of QPI technology and FTLS for biological system structure and dynamics study. Their applications are classified into static and dynamic according to their temporal selectivity. Several promising prospects are discussed in the summary section. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011.