Abstract
We proposed and demonstrated a label-free imaging method for living cells using a GaInAsP H0-type photonic crystal nanolaser array. We integrated 441 nanolasers in an arrayed configuration and achieved photopumped lasing with a 100% yield. Then, we attached HeLa cells on it, measured the wavelengths of all nanolasers and used them as pixel information. We acquired cell images, which partially corresponds to optical micrographs and probably reflects the attachment condition of the cells. We improved the refractive index resolution from ~10(-2) to 2 × 10(-3) by incorporating a nanoslot into each nanolaser and compensating the nonuniformity of each index sensitivity.
Highlights
Living cells are usually observed with fluorescent labels, but the complicated procedure of preparing samples and the invasiveness of labels are undesirable
In the cell imaging experiments, fabricated device chips were first washed by ethanol and phosphate-buffered saline, and successively placed into a vessel filled with a culture fluid known as Dulbecco’s modified Eagle medium (DMEM), GIBCO, which included HeLa cells and is supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum, GIBCO, and 1% penicillin streptomycin, GIBCO
We showed that incorporating a nanoslot (NS) into a nanolaser in water localizes the laser mode and balances the positive TO effect in the semiconductor and the negative one in water, which was confirmed from the spectral narrowing and more stable peak wavelength
Summary
Living cells are usually observed with fluorescent labels, but the complicated procedure of preparing samples and the invasiveness of labels are undesirable. The sensitivity and resolution of a single device are as high as those mentioned above, the instability of each laser wavelength and the nonuniformity in the array add noise and distortion to the Δn image, degrading the resolution and hampering its ability to detect the delicate behaviors of the cells.
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