Abstract
The nanostructures and patterns that exist in nature have inspired researchers to develop revolutionary components for use in modern technologies and our daily lives. The nanoscale imaging of biological samples with sophisticated analytical tools, such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), has afforded a precise understanding of structures and has helped reveal the mechanisms contributing to the behaviors of the samples but has done so with the loss of photonic properties. Here, we present a new method for printing biocompatible “superlenses” directly on biological objects to observe subdiffraction-limited features under an optical microscope in color. We demonstrate the nanoscale imaging of butterfly wing scales with a super-resolution and larger field-of-view (FOV) than those of previous dielectric microsphere techniques. Our approach creates a fast and flexible path for the direct color observation of nanoscale biological features in the visible range and enables potential optical measurements at the subdiffraction-limited scale.
Highlights
The investigation of biological samples has entered the nanoscale regime with the emergence of biomimetics
We present an in situ printed biocompatible glycerol superlens (SL) with a better resolution and larger field-of-view (FOV) than those of barium titanate glass (BTG) microspheres under dry conditions
We explored the printing of glycerol superlenses directly on a Morpho butterfly wing and revealed nanoscale features that had never been seen under a conventional optical microscope
Summary
In situ printing of glycerol superlenses on butterfly wings The solid immersion lenses (SILs) enhance optical resolution by increasing the effective numerical aperture of the imaging medium[33]. The surface “textures” of the scales give rise to the hydrophobicity and allow the printed glycerol droplets to form transparent and close-tocomplete microspheres. The glycerol superlenses on top of the wing scales were clearly visible (Fig. 1a). The solution viscosity showed an exponential increase with volume concentration. The 50 vol% solution (7.27 cP) was found to be the closest to the suggested viscosity for optimum performance (10–12 cP) and was used for the subsequent experiments. By adjusting the jetting waveform, we could print highquality droplets of the glycerol solution (50 vol%). The images were taken using an inverted microscope (Nikon, Ti-E) with the wafer placed at a 90° angle to the objective which
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