Detection of structural and functional changes in biological materials using angle-resolved low coherence interferometry

摘要

A well-established method of assessing structure is inverse light scattering analysis. With inverse light scattering analysis, the measured scattering properties of a scatterer(s) are associated with the most probable scattering distribution predicted by an appropriate light scattering model. One commonly used light scattering model is Mie theory, the electromagnetic theory of spherical scattering. Although Mie theory is a spherical scattering model, it has been used for deducing the geometry of spheroidal scatterers, which are important for studies of biological cell structure. The angle-resolved low coherence interferometry (a/LCI) technique is one method of Mie theory - based inverse light scattering analysis that has been used to evaluate biological structure both ex vivo and in vitro. In the present study, we examine the ability of a/LCI to assess structure, geometry, and cellular organization in ways that will further enable the study of function in biological materials.