Complex fluid product microstructure imaging with light sheet fluorescence microscopy

Light sheet fluorescence microscopy, LSFM, uses a thin sheet laser illumination to rapidly image samples with greatly reduced photodamage versus previous techniques. The flexibility of the technique has powered significant advances in biology research by connecting length scales from individual cells to entire developmental embryos. For similar reasons, LSFM is poised to enhance mesoscale imaging of complex fluid microstructures in fundamental and commercial systems. This work introduces the LSFM technique and reviews some of the first complex fluid applications along with examples of its use in food, biomaterial, and emulsion product samples. The technique is shown to nicely complement existing complex fluid characterization methods because of its breadth of length scale resolution and its lack of photobleaching effects. New product applications for LSFM are identified and discussed, suggesting additional integration with existing techniques. • Light sheet fluorescence microscopy, LSFM, has made spatial and time resolved imaging of biological samples possible over surprisingly large length scales. • The extension of LSFM from biology to complex fluids and formulated products could greatly expand experimental and modeling of structure-function relationships in cosmetic and consumer products.