Depth-enhanced molecular imaging with two-photon oblique plane microscopy.
High-numerical-aperture (NA) oblique plane microscopy enables noninvasive fluorescence imaging of subcellular dynamics without requiring radical sample modification. However, performance degrades at depth in multicellular specimens as scattering and refractive-index heterogeneity raise out-of-focus background. We report a two-photon oblique plane microscope that improves resolution at depth by combining high-NA single-objective detection with multiphoton plane illumination. The microscope achieves $\sim\!300$ nm lateral and $\sim\!650$ nm axial resolution, with single-molecule sensitivity in vivo. Compared with two-photon point scanning, the lower illumination NA delivers an order of magnitude lower peak intensity, enabling $>\!5\times$ faster volumetric acquisition (up to $3.25 \times 10^6$ voxels s$^{-1}$) with reduced photodamage. In multicellular contexts, near-infrared nonlinear excitation enhances contrast throughout the illumination depth by $\sim\!2\times$ and restores volumetric resolving power by $>\!2\times$ relative to linear excitation. We demonstrate these capabilities through molecular imaging of epithelial tissue, stem-cell-derived gastruloids, and living fruit fly embryos, including multicolor transcription-factor dynamics, optogenetic subcellular control, and single-mRNA tracking, all using standard glass-based mounting.
Authors
- Richard H. Thornton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9707-6110)
- Sergey Ryabichko (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1309-9436)
- Harold M. McNamara (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6593-6477)
- Jared E. Toettcher (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1546-4030)
- Alicia Durán (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0067-1934)
- Kevin Keomanee-Dizon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5884-4869)
- Poul‐Erik Hansen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1664-8763)
- Yaakov Clenman
- Tohn Borjigin
Publication Details
- Journal
- PubMed
- Published
- 2025-12-04
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy Techniques
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Princeton University
- National Institutes of Health