Variable-angle total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy of intact cells of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Background: Total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM) is a powerful tool for observing fluorescently labeled molecules on the plasma membrane surface of animal cells. However, the utility of TIRFM in plant cell studies has been limited by the fact that plants have cell walls, thick peripheral layers surrounding the plasma membrane. Recently, a new technique known as variable-angle epifluorescence microscopy (VAEM) was developed to circumvent this problem.

Quantitative imaging of cellular adhesion by total internal reflection holographic microscopy.

Total internal reflection (TIR) holographic microscopy uses a prism in TIR as a near-field imager to perform quantitative phase microscopy of cell-substrate interfaces. The presence of microscopic organisms, cell-substrate interfaces, adhesions, and tissue structures on the prism's TIR face causes relative index of refraction and frustrated TIR to modulate the object beam's evanescent wave phase front. We present quantitative phase images of test specimens such as Amoeba proteus and cells such as SKOV-3 and 3T3 fibroblasts.