Jesse W. Wilson

In vivo and ex vivo epi-mode pump-probe imaging of melanin and microvasculature

We performed epi-mode pump-probe imaging of melanin in excised human pigmented lesions and both hemoglobin and melanin in live xenograft mouse melanoma models to depths greater than 100 µm. Eumelanin and pheomelanin images, which have been previously demonstrated to differentiate melanoma from benign lesions, were acquired at the dermal-epidermal junction with cellular resolution and modest optical powers (down to 15 mW). We imaged dermal microvasculature with the same wavelengths, allowing simultaneous acquisition of melanin, hemoglobin and multiphoton autofluorescence images. Molecular pump-probe imaging of melanocytes, skin structure and microvessels allows comprehensive, non-invasive characterization of pigmented lesions.

Invited Review Article: Pump-probe microscopy

Multiphoton microscopy has rapidly gained popularity in biomedical imaging and materials science because of its ability to provide three-dimensional images at high spatial and temporal resolution even in optically scattering environments. Currently the majority of commercial and home-built devices are based on two-photon fluorescence and harmonic generation contrast. These two contrast mechanisms are relatively easy to measure but can access only a limited range of endogenous targets. Recent developments in fast laser pulse generation, pulse shaping, and detection technology have made accessible a wide range of optical contrasts that utilize multiple pulses of different colors. Molecular excitation with multiple pulses offers a large number of adjustable parameters. For example, in two-pulse pump-probe microscopy, one can vary the wavelength of each excitation pulse, the detection wavelength, the timing between the excitation pulses, and the detection gating window after excitation. Such a large parameter space can provide much greater molecular specificity than existing single-color techniques and allow for structural and functional imaging without the need for exogenous dyes and labels, which might interfere with the system under study. In this review, we provide a tutorial overview, covering principles of pump-probe microscopy and experimental setup, challenges associated with signal detection and data processing, and an overview of applications.

Ultrafast phase and amplitude pulse shaping with a single, one-dimensional, high-resolution phase mask.

An ultrafast pulse shaper, capable of both phase and amplitude shaping, is constructed using a single high-resolution liquid crystal phase mask. The shaper is calibrated with an inline spectral interferometry technique. Amplitude shaping is accomplished by writing to the mask a phase grating, whose period is smaller than the spectral focus, diffracting away selected frequencies in a controllable manner.

Phasor analysis for nonlinear pump-probe microscopy

Pump-probe microscopy provides molecular information by probing transient, excited state dynamic properties of pigmented samples. Analysis of the transient response is typically conducted using principal component analysis or multi-exponential fitting, however these methods are not always practical or feasible. Here, we show an adaptation of phasor analysis to provide an intuitive, robust, and efficient method for analyzing and displaying pump-probe images, thereby alleviating some of the challenges associated with differentiating multiple pigments. A theoretical treatment is given to understand how the complex transient signals map onto the phasor plot. Analyses of cutaneous and ocular pigmented tissue samples, as well as historical pigments in art demonstrate the utility of this approach.

Near-infrared excited state dynamics of melanins: the effects of iron content, photo-damage, chemical oxidation, and aggregate size.

Ultrafast pump–probe measurements can discriminate the two forms of melanin found in biological tissue (eumelanin and pheomelanin), which may be useful for diagnosing and grading melanoma. However, recent work has shown that bound iron content changes eumelanin’s pump–probe response, making it more similar to that of pheomelanin. Here we record the pump–probe response of these melanins at a wider range of wavelengths than previous work and show that with shorter pump wavelengths the response crosses over from being dominated by ground-state bleaching to being dominated by excited-state absorption. The crossover wavelength is different for each type of melanin. In our analysis, we found that the mechanism by which iron modifies eumelanin’s pump–probe response cannot be attributed to Raman resonances or differences in melanin aggregation and is more likely caused by iron acting to broaden the unit spectra of individual chromophores in the heterogeneous melanin aggregate. We analyze the dependence on optical intensity, finding that iron-loaded eumelanin undergoes irreversible changes to the pump–probe response after intense laser exposure. Simultaneously acquired fluorescence data suggest that the previously reported “activation” of eumelanin fluorescence may be caused in part by the dissociation of metal ions or the selective degradation of iron-containing melanin.

Cross-phase modulation imaging

We demonstrate a cross-phase modulation measurement technique based on the sensitive detection of modulation transfer in a pump-probe setup. By modulating the amplitude of the pump beam and spectrally analyzing the probe beam, we achieve a rapid, background-free measurement of nonlinear phase modulation using power levels acceptable in biological imaging. This measurement technique would allow the extension of widely employed phase microscopy methods to the nonlinear regime, providing intrinsic and universal nonlinear contrast for biological imaging.

Comparing in vivo pump–probe and multiphoton fluorescence microscopy of melanoma and pigmented lesions

Abstract. We demonstrate a multimodal approach that combines a pump–probe with confocal reflectance and multiphoton autofluorescence microscopy. Pump–probe microscopy has been proven to be of great value in analyzing thin tissue sections of pigmented lesions, as it produces molecular contrast which is inaccessible by other means. However, the higher optical intensity required to overcome scattering in thick tissue leads to higher-order nonlinearities in the optical response of melanin (e.g., two-photon pump and one-photon probe) that present additional challenges for interpreting the data. We show that analysis of pigment composition in vivo must carefully account for signal terms that are nonlinear with respect to the pump and probe intensities. We find that pump–probe imaging gives useful contrast for pigmented structures over a large range of spatial scales (100  μm to 1 cm), making it a potentially useful tool for tracking the progression of pigmented lesions without the need to introduce exogenous contrast agents.

Dispersion balancing of variable-delay monolithic pulse splitters

We propose the use of birefringent materials to attain pulse separations suitable for pump-probe spectroscopy and spectral interferometry. By choice of material thickness and cut angle, it is possible to balance second-order dispersion while allowing for variable delays. The generated pulse pair is used to calibrate the phase response of an ultrafast liquid-crystal pulse shaper, and in the measurement of a rotational wave packet in impulsively aligned CO(2) molecules.

Nonlinear Microscopy of Eumelanin and Pheomelanin with Subcellular Resolution

Pump-probe microscopy non-destructively differentiates eumelanin and pheomelanin and can be used to quantify melanin distributions in thin biopsy slices. Here we have extended that work for imaging eumelanin and pheomelanin distributions on a sub-cellular scale, allowing elucidation of characteristics of different cell types. The results show that melanin heterogeneity, previously found to be characteristic of melanomas, persists on the sub-cellular scale. We have also found spectral changes associated with melanin located in melanophages, which could potentially differentiate invasive pigmented melanocytes from melanophages without immunohistochemical staining.

Special Section on Laser Applications in Life Sciences: Comparing in vivo pump–probe and multiphoton fluorescence microscopy of melanoma and pigmented lesions

Abstract. We demonstrate a multimodal approach that combines a pump–probe with confocal reflectance and multiphoton autofluorescence microscopy. Pump–probe microscopy has been proven to be of great value in analyzing thin tissue sections of pigmented lesions, as it produces molecular contrast which is inaccessible by other means. However, the higher optical intensity required to overcome scattering in thick tissue leads to higher-order nonlinearities in the optical response of melanin (e.g., two-photon pump and one-photon probe) that present additional challenges for interpreting the data. We show that analysis of pigment composition in vivo must carefully account for signal terms that are nonlinear with respect to the pump and probe intensities. We find that pump–probe imaging gives useful contrast for pigmented structures over a large range of spatial scales (100  μm to 1 cm), making it a potentially useful tool for tracking the progression of pigmented lesions without the need to introduce exogenous contrast agents.