Tomographic imaging of a suspending single live cell using optical tweezer-combined full-field optical coherence tomography

Abstract

We propose a label-free depth-resolved tomographic scheme for imaging a single live cell in fluid. This approach utilizes a modified time-domain full-field optical coherence tomography (FF-OCT) system combined with an optical tweezer technique. The optical trap for holding a moving specimen is made by tightly focusing a 1064 nm Q-switching pulsed laser beam with a 1.0 NA microscope objective in the sample arm of the FF-OCT part. By cosharing the probe for both systems, the optical actions of trapping and cellular resolution tomographic imaging could be achieved simultaneously. Feasibility of the combined system is demonstrated by imaging micron-sized polystyrene beads and a living suspension cell in medium.