Integrated photonic chip-based nanoscopy for pathology & the clinic

The aim of Nano2021 project is to develop advanced optical microscopy using photonic-chip for application in life sciences and in histopathology. The high contrast, superior resolution and non-invasive aspect makes optical microscopy indispensable technology. During 2022, the team successfully demonstrated photonic chip-based multimodal super-resolution microscopy for histological investigations of cryopreserved tissue sections. This work was published in the scientific article. The photonic-chip illumination enables large field of view and by using intensity fluctuation and single molecule localization algorithms super resolution microscopy of histopathology samples were demonstrated. The research team has also developed novel common path quantitative differential interference contrast microscopy set-up. A disclosure of invention has been submitted to protect the invention. Development efforts were also made to improve the phase reconstruction algorithm for quantitative phase microscopy. During 2022, the research team developed a label-free superior contrast optical microscopy method based on photonic-chip for imaging nanoscale biological objects. This new method was coined as cELS and demonstrated label-free imaging of extra-cellular vesicles and liposomes. The PI and the research team have been invited for several invited talks in seminars and workshops, where research outcome of Nano2021 was presented. The post-doc hired within Nano2021 also presented talks related to interdisciplinary research, diversity and career in photonics.

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Present super resolution High-resolution microscopy (nanoscopy) uses a simple glass slide to hold the sample but a complex and expensive microscope (nanoscope) setup to illuminate the sample. We have recently proposed a paradigm shift in nanoscopy by replacing the glass slide with a nanoscale photonic integrated chip (PIC) capable of both holding and illuminating the sample. Thus, it substitutes the nanoscope with inexpensive standard microscope while supporting high-throughput super resolved imaging. As a consequence, pre-clinical research labs and clinical diagnostic labs can transform into super-resolved imaging facilities by simply retrofitting any standard fluorescence microscope with our novel PIC technology. Within the Nano-Chip proposal, we propose to enhance the penetration of our chip-based nanoscopy platform towards clinical application by addressing the key-pain points relevant for this market, i.e. a) high-throughput and b) development of multi-modality imaging platform. This is the foundation of our long-term vision: widespread usage of affordable, multi-modality and high-throughput chip-based nanoscopes. Nano-Chip actively involves stakeholder (Radiumhospitalet), where Nano-Chip platform will be user-tested for 1-year long pilot studies at Radiumhospitalet for the pathology applications. This proposal therefore meets the guidelines and principles for Nano2021 and Responsible Research Innovation. Nano-Chip offers a unique opportunity for Norway to gain an important advantage in developing a coherent research community around PIC-based nanoscopy. The chip-based nanoscopy is new research direction that was kick-started at UiT, Norway and is gaining international visibility and attracting significant interest from industries.