Chip-based optical microscopy for imaging membrane sieve plates of liver scavenger cells

The evanescent field on top of optical waveguides is used to image membrane network and sieve-plates of liver endothelial cells. In waveguide excitation, the evanescent field is dominant only near the surface (~100-150 nm) providing a default optical sectioning by illuminating fluorophores in close proximity to the surface and thus benefiting higher signal-to-noise ratio. The sieve plates of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells are present on the cell membrane, thus near-field waveguide chip-based microscopy configuration is preferred over epi-fluorescence. The waveguide chip is compatible with optical fiber components allowing easy multiplexing to different wavelengths. In this paper, we will discuss the challenges and opportunities provided by integrated optical microscopy for imaging cell membranes.