In a new study published in Nature Photonics, EMBL technology developers took a significant step forward with a unique methodology that adds an important microscopy capacity to life scientists’ toolboxes.
An artist's representation of the new Brillouin microscopy approach that allows entire light-sheets to interact with 3D biological samples. The scattered light reveals a unique optical interference signal that can be recorded with a custom-developed spectrometer, tremendously speeding up image acquisition. Image Credit: Daniela Velasco/European Molecular Biology Laboratory
The advancement improves Brillouin microscopy speed and throughput by a factor of 1,000, allowing for more efficient viewing of light-sensitive organisms.
We were on a quest to speed up image acquisition. Over the years, we have progressed from being able to see just a pixel at a time to a line of 100 pixels, to now a full plane that offers a view of approximately 10,000 pixels.
Carlo Bevilacqua, Study Lead Author and Optical Engineer, Prevedel Team, European Molecular Biology Laboratory
Léon Brillouin, a French physicist, predicted a phenomenon in 1922 that underpins the technology. He demonstrated that when light is shone on a material, it interacts with naturally occurring thermal vibrations, transferring energy and slightly modifying the light's frequency (or color). Measuring dispersed light's spectrum (colors) provides information about a material’s physical properties.
Brillouin scattering was used for microscopy in the early 2000s when other technological advances allowed scientists to measure minuscule frequency shifts with great precision and throughput. This enabled them to calculate the mechanical characteristics of live biological samples. However, at the time, scientists could only see one pixel at a time.
As a result, the process was time-consuming, significantly limiting the microscopy method’s application in biology. Bevilacqua and colleagues in the Prevedel group were first able to increase the field of view to a line and now, with this latest discovery, to a full 2D field of view, which speeds up 3D imaging.
Just as the development of light-sheet microscopy here at EMBL marked a revolution in light microscopy because it allowed for faster, high-resolution, and minimally phototoxic imaging of biological samples, so too does this advance in the area of mechanical or Brillouin imaging. We hope this new technology with minimal light intensity opens one more ‘window’ for life scientists’ exploration.
Robert Prevedel, Study Senior Author and Group Leader, European Molecular Biology Laboratory
Journal Reference:
Bevilacqua, C. and Prevedel, R. (2025) Full-field Brillouin microscopy based on an imaging Fourier-transform spectrometer. Nature Photonics. doi.org/10.1038/s41566-025-01619-y.