Broadband backscattering confocal microscopy enables label-free 3D live cell nanoscale sensitive imaging.

ABSTRACT: Fluorescence microscopy is a cornerstone of biological research. However, fluorescent labeling is challenging in live cells and is constrained by photobleaching and phototoxicity. Label-free methods allow cells to be studied in their native state, but most techniques have poor contrast, lack 3D capability, rely on complex optics, and fail to provide structural information. We present broadband backscattering confocal microscopy (BBCM), which employs a broadband supercontinuum laser and collects backscattered light in confocal geometry using a photomultiplier tube. Broadband illumination averages out size-dependent oscillations that confound monochromatic backscattering. This eliminates blind spots and intensity ambiguities, allowing all scatterers to be visible, with the signal increasing

SUBMITTER: Coughlan MF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12889605 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature