The temperature distribution throughout arrays of illuminated metal nanoparticles is investigated numerically and experimentally. The two cases of continuous and femtosecond-pulsed illumination are addressed. In the case of continuous illumination, two distinct regimes are evidenced: a temperature confinement regime, where the temperature increase remains confined at the vicinity of each nanosource of heat, and a temperature delocalization regime, where the temperature is uniform throughout the whole nanoparticle assembly despite the heat sources' nanometric size. We show that the occurrence of one regime or another simply depends on the geometry of the nanoparticle distribution. In particular, we derived (i) simple expressions of dimensionless parameters aimed at predicting the degree of temperature confinement and (ii) analytical expressions aimed at estimating the actual temperature increase at the center of an assembly of nanoparticles under illumination, preventing heavy numerical simulations. All these theoretical results are supported by experimental measurements of the temperature distribution on regular arrays of gold nanoparticles under illumination. In the case of femtosecond-pulsed illumination, we explain the two conditions that must be fulfilled to observe a further enhanced temperature spatial confinement.

Under illumination, metal nanoparticles can turn into ideal nanosources of heat due to enhanced light absorption at the plasmonic resonance wavelength. In this article, we aim at providing a comprehensive description of the generation of microbubbles in a liquid occurring around plasmonic nanoparticles under continuous illumination. We focus on a common situation where the nanoparticles are located on a solid substrate and immersed in water. Experimentally, we evidenced a series of singular phenomena: (i) the bubble lifetime after heating can reach several minutes, (ii) the bubbles are not made of water steam but of air, and (iii) the local temperature required to trigger bubble generation is much larger than 100 degrees C: This last observation evidences that superheated liquid water, up to 220 degrees C, is easy to achieve in plasmonics, under ambient pressure conditions and even over arbitrary large areas. This could lead to new chemical synthesis approaches in solvothermal chemistry

Phase imaging with a high-resolution wavefront sensor is considered. This is based on a quadriwave lateral shearing interferometer mounted on a non-modified transmission white-light microscope. The measurement technology is explained both in the scope of wave optics and geometrical optics in order to discuss its implementation on a conventional microscope. In particular we consider the effect of a non spatially coherent source on the phase-image signal-to-noise ratio. Precise measurements of the phase-shift introduced by microscopic beads or giant unilamellar vesicles validate the principle and show the accuracy of the methods. Diffraction limited images of living COS-7 cells are then presented, with a particular focus on the membrane and organelle dynamics.

We introduce an optical microscopy technique aimed at characterizing the heat generation arising from nanostructures, in a comprehensive and quantitative manner. Namely, the technique permits (i) mapping the temperature distribution around the source of heat, (ii) mapping the heat power density delivered by the source, and (iii) retrieving the absolute absorption cross section of light-absorbing structures. The technique is based on the measure of the thermal-induced refractive index variation of the medium surrounding the source of heat. The measurement is achieved using an association of a regular CCD camera along with a modified Hartmann diffraction grating. Such a simple association makes this technique straightforward to implement on any conventional microscope with its native broadband illumination conditions. We illustrate this technique on gold nanoparticles illuminated at their plasmonic resonance. The spatial resolution of this technique is diffraction limited, and temperature variations weaker than 1 K can be detected.

Essential cellular functions as diverse as genome maintenance and tissue morphogenesis rely on the dynamic organization of filamentous assemblies. For example, the precise structural organization of DNA filaments has profound consequences on all DNA-mediated processes including gene expression, whereas control over the precise spatial arrangement of cytoskeletal protein filaments is key for mechanical force generation driving animal tissue morphogenesis. Polarized fluorescence is currently used to extract structural organization of fluorescently labeled biological filaments by determining the orientation of fluorescent labels, however with a strong drawback: polarized fluorescence imaging is indeed spatially limited by optical diffraction, and is thus unable to discriminate between the intrinsic orientational mobility of the fluorophore labels and the real structural disorder of the labeled biomolecules. Here, we demonstrate that quantitative single-molecule polarized detection in biological filament assemblies allows not only to correct for the rotational flexibility of the label but also to image orientational order of filaments at the nanoscale using superresolution capabilities. The method is based on polarized direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy, using dedicated optical scheme and image analysis to determine both molecular localization and orientation with high precision. We apply this method to double-stranded DNA in vitro and microtubules and actin stress fibers in whole cells.iological processes are inherently driven by the molecularscale organization of biomolecular assemblies, which arrange in precise structures that are essential for biological functions in cells and tissues. The extent to which the biological function depends on the underlying molecular-scale organization is particularly evident in filamentous assemblies, such as DNA filaments and cytoskeletal protein filaments. Changes in the local higher-order organization of DNA filaments is tightly linked to essential DNA-mediated processes including control of gene expression, DNA replication, and DNA repair. However, how specific DNA-binding proteins affect DNA filament architecture and thus DNA-mediated functions is poorly understood (1). Similarly, the spatial organization of cytoskeletal filaments in cells and tissues is also weakly explored, despite their central role in generating forces and driving cell motility, cell division, and tissue morphogenesis (2). Electron microscopy has been widely used to provide molecular-scale images of the structure of such filament assemblies; however, it typically involves several daylong sample preparation and ultrathin sectioning of the biological material, thus limiting investigations in whole cells and tissues.Polarized fluorescence imaging is a powerful approach for elucidating the structural organization of filament assemblies because it is compatible with a wide variety of microscopy techniques, thus enabling studies across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Polarized fluorescenc...

We report a first demonstration of two-photon endoscopic imaging with a lensless endoscope. The endoscope probe is a double-clad bundle of single-mode fibers; point excitation and scanning is achieved by coherent combining of femtosecond light pulses propagating in the single-mode fibers; and back-scattered two-photon signal is collected through the multi-mode inner cladding. We demonstrate the two-photon endoscope on a test sample of rhodamine 6G crystals.

Single-cell dry mass measurement is used in biology to follow cell cycle, to address effects of drugs, or to investigate cell metabolism. Quantitative phase imaging technique with quadriwave lateral shearing interferometry (QWLSI) allows measuring cell dry mass. The technique is very simple to set up, as it is integrated in a camera-like instrument. It simply plugs onto a standard microscope and uses a white light illumination source. Its working principle is first explained, from image acquisition to automated segmentation algorithm and dry mass quantification. Metrology of the whole process, including its sensitivity, repeatability, reliability, sources of error, over different kinds of samples and under different experimental conditions, is developed. We show that there is no influence of magnification or spatial light coherence on dry mass measurement; effect of defocus is more critical but can be calibrated. As a consequence, QWLSI is a well-suited technique for fast, simple, and reliable cell dry mass study, especially for live cells.

We report a step toward scanning endomicroscopy without distal optics. The focusing of the beam at the distal end of a fiber bundle is achieved by imposing a parabolic phase profile across the exit face with the aid of a spatial light modulator. We achieve video-rate images by galvanometric scanning of the phase tilt at the proximal end. The approach is made possible by the bundle, designed to have very low coupling between cores.