Label-free fluorescence microscopy: revisiting the opportunities with autofluorescent molecules and harmonic generations as biosensors and biomarkers for quantitative biology.

Over the past decade, the utilization of advanced fluorescence microscopy technologies has presented numerous opportunities to study or re-investigate autofluorescent molecules and harmonic generation signals as molecular biomarkers and biosensors for in vivo cell and tissue studies. The label-free approaches benefit from the endogenous fluorescent molecules within the cell and take advantage of their spectroscopy properties to address biological questions. Harmonic generation can be used as a tool to identify the occurrence of fibrillar or lipid deposits in tissues, by using second and third-harmonic generation microscopy. Combining autofluorescence with novel techniques and tools such as fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) and hyperspectral imaging (HSI) with model-free analysis of phasor plots has revolutionized the understanding of molecular processes such as cellular metabolism. These tools provide quantitative information that is often hidden under classical intensity-based microscopy. In this short review, we aim to illustrate how some of these technologies and techniques may enable investigation without the need to add a foreign fluorescence molecule that can modify or affect the results. We address some of the most important autofluorescence molecules and their spectroscopic properties to illustrate the potential of these combined tools. We discuss using them as biomarkers and biosensors and, under the lens of this new technology, identify some of the challenges and potentials for future advances in the field.