Biophotonics articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Single molecule investigations are often performed in fluidic environments, but molecular diffusion and limited photon counts can compromise studies of processes with fast or slow dynamics. The authors introduce a planar optofluidic antenna which enhances the fluorescence signal from molecules, applicable to a diverse range of studies.

    • Luis Morales-Inostroza
    • , Julian Folz
    •  & Vahid Sandoghdar

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Accessing multi-angle views of organoids is important for biology and oncology. The authors propose ultrasound-induced reorientation for multi-angle optical coherence tomography, using a 3D-printed acoustic trap to levitate and rotate samples with a model-based algorithm for reconstruction.

    • Mia Kvåle Løvmo
    • , Shiyu Deng
    •  & Monika Ritsch-Marte

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors use deep learning to detect and segment unlabeled and unaltered protein aggregates in living cells from transmitted-light images. The method provides a way to quantitatively study protein aggregation dynamics in a simple, fast and accurate way.

    • Khalid A. Ibrahim
    • , Kristin S. Grußmayer
    •  & Aleksandra Radenovic

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Deep imaging in complex scattering media is hindered by multiple light scattering. Here, the authors proposed a method to trace multiple scattering trajectories in situ using a recorded reflection matrix and achieved enhanced imaging depth by converting these multiple scattering to signal waves.

    • Sungsam Kang
    • , Yongwoo Kwon
    •  & Wonshik Choi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Spatial transcriptomics of histological sections have revolutionized basic research, while the actual biomolecular composition of the sample has fallen behind. Here, the authors propose a novel approach to analyze untargeted spatiomolecular Raman spectroscopy data through bioinformatic tools developed for transcriptomic analyses, and integrate them with additional Omics techniques.

    • Manuel Sigle
    • , Anne-Katrin Rohlfing
    •  & Meinrad Paul Gawaz

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Image stitching in fluorescence microscopy can be a hindrance to image quality and to downstream quantitative analyses. Here, the authors propose a deep learning-based stripe self-correction method that corrects diverse stripes and artifacts for stitched microscopic images.

    • Shu Wang
    • , Xiaoxiang Liu
    •  & Jianxin Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Conventional super-oscillatory devices suffer from numerical-aperture related issue including depth of focus, chromatic dispersion, and focusing, Here, the authors utilised multi-objective genetic algorithm to optimise the design and experimentally demonstrated lens with an extended depth of focus, ultra-large working distance and suppressed side-lobes.

    • Wenli Li
    • , Pei He
    •  & Yiting Yu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Rouge waves have been observed in a number of complex systems, but not in biological structures. Here, the authors report the observation of optical rouge waves manifesting in tumor-cell spheroids when illuminated by randomly modulated laser beams.

    • Davide Pierangeli
    • , Giordano Perini
    •  & Claudio Conti

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Light-matter interaction can induce changes to the properties of the system by creating hybrid collective states of light and molecular excitations, the so called polaritons. Here the authors use femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy to explore exciton-polariton dynamics in a photosynthetic protein, light harvesting 2 complexes, and find evidence for rapid energy transfer to dark polariton states.

    • Fan Wu
    • , Daniel Finkelstein-Shapiro
    •  & Tönu Pullerits

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Optoacoustic imaging is mostly performed in the time domain. Here the authors demonstrate frequency wavelength multiplexed optoacoustic tomography that can operate at multiple wavelengths simultaneously and offers signal-to-noise ratio advantages over time domain methods.

    • Antonios Stylogiannis
    • , Ludwig Prade
    •  & Vasilis Ntziachristos

  • Article
    | Open Access

    There is a need to control molecular activities at high spatial precision. Here the authors report a real-time precision opto-control technology that detects a chemical-specific optical response from molecular targets, and precisely control photoswitchable microtubule polymerization inhibitors in cells.

    • Matthew G. Clark
    • , Gil A. Gonzalez
    •  & Chi Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A label-free sensing method has been developed for identifying hazardous pathogens based on their intrinsic properties. This was possible by interrogating the temperature-dependent dielectric constant of the microbes in the far-infrared range.

    • S. W. Jun
    •  & Y. H. Ahn

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Optical microcavities are useful as probes in cells due to their narrow emission spectra and high sensitivity to environment. Here, the authors use the unique spectral features of microcavities, which are unaffected by tissue scattering, and show 3D localisation and tracking of cells deep in tissues.

    • Aljaž Kavčič
    • , Maja Garvas
    •  & Matjaž Humar

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Suppressing 1/f-shaped low-frequency noise is critical but fundamentally challenging to both electrical and optical transducers. Here, the authors demonstrate a 1/f-noise-free optical sensor with integrated CMOS-compatible heterodyne interferometer and an upconversion amplifying technique, which suppresses the noise by two orders of magnitude.

    • Ming Jin
    • , Shui-Jing Tang
    •  & Yun-Feng Xiao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Identification of neurotransmitters remains challenging for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) due to presence of noise. Here, the authors present spread spectrum SERS, which by encoding excited light and decoding SERS signals enables detection of unlabelled neurotransmitters at attomolar concentrations.

    • Wonkyoung Lee
    • , Byoung-Hoon Kang
    •  & Ki-Hun Jeong

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) can offer an attractive approach for providing light stimulation in high-throughput optogenetics. Here, the authors report a microstructured OLED array that provides local photo-stimulation in Drosophila melanogaster larvae for controlled motor responses.

    • Caroline Murawski
    • , Stefan R. Pulver
    •  & Malte C. Gather

  • Article
    | Open Access

    High throughput imaging flow cytometry suffers from trade-offs between throughput, sensitivity and spatial resolution. Here the authors introduce a method to virtually freeze cells in the image acquisition window to enable 1000 times longer signal integration time and improve signal-to-noise ratio.

    • Hideharu Mikami
    • , Makoto Kawaguchi
    •  & Keisuke Goda

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Elastic mapping of individual layers of the cornea with elastography uses Lamb waves, which are dependent on the thickness of each layer and the direction of propagation. Here the authors present Reverberant 3D Optical Coherence Elastography to measure elasticity of single layers using waves propagating in all directions.

    • Fernando Zvietcovich
    • , Pornthep Pongchalee
    •  & Kevin J. Parker

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The characterization of biomacromolecule structural vibrations has been impeded by a broad continuous vibrational density of states obscuring molecule specific vibrations. A terahertz microscopy system using polarization control produces signatures to dynamically fingerprint proteins and a RNA G-quadruplex.

    • Katherine A. Niessen
    • , Mengyang Xu
    •  & Andrea G. Markelz

  • Article
    | Open Access

    While the sharp emission lines of microlasers are advantageous for cell tagging, their relatively large size can impede cell migration and behavior. Here, Fikouras et al. develop nano-sized lasers that can readily tag and track various types of cells, including through narrow constrictions.

    • Alasdair H. Fikouras
    • , Marcel Schubert
    •  & Malte C. Gather

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Although fractal optical patterns have been realized previously, the direct generation of fractal modes from a laser has proven challenging. Here, Rivera et al. modify an optical cavity with a microsphere array to produce fractal laser modes and probe live cells, which serve as a component of the resonator.

    • José A. Rivera
    • , Thomas C. Galvin
    •  & J. Gary Eden

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Several animals and plants get their often spectacular colouration and iridescence from structural colouration. Here, Hsiung et al. show the 3-dimensional nanostructures that produce the rainbow colours on the abdomen of miniature peacock spiders.

    • Bor-Kai Hsiung
    • , Radwanul Hasan Siddique
    •  & Todd A. Blackledge

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Optical coherence tomography is an established optical tool for in vivo clinical imaging and diagnosis applications, but endoscopic technologies remain limited. Here, Yuan et al. develop a flexible, narrow diameter, super-achromatic endoscopic probe for ultrahigh-resolution in vivo OCT imaging of small luminal organs or narrow constrictions.

    • Wu Yuan
    • , Robert Brown
    •  & Xingde Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Optogenetics, the optical stimulation of neurons, suffers from many technical challenges that limit the number of neurons that can be excited as well as their relative positions. Here, Pégard et al. develop a method to simultaneously stimulate an arbitrary number of neurons in 3D space with single neuron resolution.

    • Nicolas C. Pégard
    • , Alan R. Mardinly
    •  & Hillel Adesnik

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The neural circuits of the vestibular system, which detects gravity and motion, remain incompletely characterised. Here the authors use an optical trap to manipulate otoliths (ear stones) in zebrafish larvae, and elicit corrective tail movements and eye rolling, thus establishing a method for mapping vestibular processing.

    • Itia A. Favre-Bulle
    • , Alexander B. Stilgoe
    •  & Ethan K. Scott

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Studying quantum transport in biological systems is difficult so developing an artificial platform that can be used to understand quantum transport is desirable. Here, Caruso, et al. demonstrate how a quantum walker can quickly reach the output of a maze by partially suppressing the presence of interference.

    • Filippo Caruso
    • , Andrea Crespi
    •  & Roberto Osellame

  • Article
    | Open Access

    BioLEDs is an emerging group of light-emitting diodes that use duplex-strand DNA to enhance luminescence intensity. Here, Back et al.show that only the specific binding between a pair of single-strand DNA can trigger the enhancement, which potentially makes BioLEDs an easy platform for DNA recognition.

    • Seung Hyuk Back
    • , Jin Hyuk Park
    •  & Dong June Ahn

  • Article |

    The interaction between light and molecules can lead to hybrid quantum-physical states of light and matter. Here, the authors demonstrate one such effect, spatial modulation of light, with the protein photosystem I as a first demonstration of this quantum effect with such a biological molecule.

    • Itai Carmeli
    • , Moshik Cohen
    •  & Shachar Richter

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mollusks have evolved an exquisite diversity of complex mineralized shells for protection. One such example, the blue-rayed limpet, incorporates a vivid display of blue lines, which originate from the interference of light in a nano-periodic photonic architecture buried within the animal's translucent shell.

    • Ling Li
    • , Stefan Kolle
    •  & Mathias Kolle

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Algae beds are a promising resource for bio-energy and gas production, but their productivity is often limited by solar energy harvesting efficiency. Wondraczek et al. promote algal growth by using photoluminescent phosphor, which shifts the light spectrum to better match the algal adsorption band.

    • Lothar Wondraczek
    • , Miroslaw Batentschuk
    •  & Christoph J. Brabec

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