AUTHOR=Wang Zhi , Qiao Wei , Jiang Tao , Chen Siqi , Lu Bolin , Ning Kefu , Jin Rui , Gong Hui , Yuan Jing 

TITLE=Axial resolution and imaging contrast enhancement in inverted light-sheet microscopy by natural illumination modulation

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neuroscience

VOLUME=16

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2022.1032195

DOI=10.3389/fnins.2022.1032195

ISSN=1662-453X

ABSTRACT=<p>Inverted light-sheet microscopy (ILSM) is widely employed for fast large-volume imaging of biological tissue. However, the scattering especially in an uncleared sample, and the divergent propagation of the illumination beam lead to a trade-off between axial resolution and imaging depth. Herein, we propose naturally modulated ILSM (NM-ILSM) as a technique to improve axial resolution while simultaneously maintaining the wide field-of-view (FOV), and enhancing imaging contrast <italic>via</italic> background suppression. Theoretical derivations, simulations, and experimental imaging demonstrate 15% axial resolution increases, and fivefold greater image contrast compared with conventional ILSM. Therefore, NM-ILSM allows convenient imaging quality improvement for uncleared tissue and could extend the biological application scope of ILSM.</p>