US 12,372,767 B2
Photonic crystal microscope and method of measuring cellular forces
Zhongze Gu, Jiangsu (CN); Qiwei Li, Jiangsu (CN); and Zaozao Chen, Jiangsu (CN)
Assigned to INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL DEVICES (SUZHOU), SOUTHEAST UNIVERSITY, Suzhou (CN)
Filed by INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL DEVICES (SUZHOU), SOUTHEAST UNIVERSITY, Jiangsu (CN)
Filed on Mar. 7, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/180,120.
Application 18/180,120 is a continuation of application No. PCT/CN2020/137819, filed on Dec. 19, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 202010931803.4 (CN), filed on Sep. 8, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0221538 A1, Jul. 13, 2023
Int. Cl. G02B 21/00 (2006.01); G02B 1/00 (2006.01); G02B 26/00 (2006.01)
CPC G02B 21/0076 (2013.01) [G02B 1/005 (2013.01); G02B 26/007 (2013.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A photonic crystal microscope, comprising: a photonic crystal substrate, a stage, a probe light source, and an imaging assembly, the photonic crystal substrate being disposed above the stage, the probe light source and the imaging assembly being sequentially disposed at a side of the stage opposite the photonic crystal substrate, the photonic crystal substrate being configured to culture a to-be-measured cell; wherein,
the probe light source is configured to emit probe light to the photonic crystal substrate;
the photonic crystal substrate is configured to reflect the probe light to the imaging assembly, wherein the photonic crystal substrate comprises a light-transmissive support layer and a photonic crystal membrane, the photonic crystal membrane being disposed at a side of the support layer opposite the stage, the photonic crystal membrane being disposed above the stage in a non-suspended manner, wherein when the to-be-measured cell grows on the photonic crystal membrane, the to-be-measured cell imposes a force against the photonic crystal membrane, leading to deformation of the photonic crystal membrane; the photonic crystal membrane disposed in a non-suspended manner has a wavelength selectivity with respect to light reflection such that the photonic crystal substrate deformed may vary a wavelength component of the light reflected, resulting in correspondence between a reflection spectrum and a photonic bandgap; at points where the to-be-measured cell imposes a pressing force to the photonic crystal membrane towards the substrate, blueshift occurs to the reflection spectrum, and at points where the to-be-measured cell imposes a pull force away from the substrate, redshift occurs to the reflection spectrum, whereby a pattern is formed in the imaging assembly;
the imaging assembly is configured to receive the light reflected from the photonic crystal substrate to perform imaging, whereby force information between the to-be-measured cell and the photonic crystal substrate is obtained via a resultant image;
the imaging assembly comprises a spectroscope and a camera, which is specifically configured to:
compact the photonic crystal membrane using a nanometer-precision platen, record simultaneously spectra and colored image data using the spectroscope and the camera, and map peak positions of spectra with color phases of the image at same time points to obtain a mapping relationship between reflection peak positions of the photonic crystal and the color phases; and
obtain a conventional phase-difference image according to a phase-difference mode, obtain a mechanical modal map using a reflection mode, followed by extracting color phase information, and obtain strain information based on mapping relationship between the color phases and photonic bandgap peak positions.