Stain-free subcellular-resolution astrocyte imaging using third-harmonic generation

Abstract

We demonstrate stain-free, high-contrast, subcellular-resolution imaging of astroglial cells using epi-detected third-harmonic generation (THG). The astrocyte-imaging capability of THG is verified by colocalizing THG images with fluorescence images of astrocytes expressing a genetically encodable fluorescent reporter. We show that THG imaging with an optimized point-spread function can reliably detect significant subcellular features of astrocytes, including cell nuclei, as well as the soma shape and boundaries.