Brillouin imaging for noncontact and label-free 2D and 3D mapping of cellular mechanical properties

Cell mechanical properties may undergo changes as a response to external stimuli or altered environment. Being able to map the mechanical properties over an entire cell in a contact-free and label-free manner is crucial to avoid affecting the measurements. Brillouin imaging is a non-invasive all-optical modality that can provide a distribution map of high-frequency elastic modulus and viscosity. In this report we first provide an overview of prior Brillouin cell imaging studies. We then demonstrate viscoelastic 2D and 3D cell imaging capabilities of a molecular filter-based Brillouin imaging system, with a first-time imaging application of multi-excitation (ME) Brillouin elastography.