Simulation and modeling of optical phase contrast microscope cellular nanobioimaging

We apply a previously developed 3D Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) simulation method to model the optical phase contrast microscopic (OPCM) visualization of Gold nanoparticles (NPs) attached to the nucleus of a singe biological cell. We consider a realistic size 3D cell model at optical immersion conditions, i.e. when the refractive index values of the cytoplasm and of the extra-cellular medium are equal. The visual effect of the Gold NPs is studied at both resonant and non-resonant conditions. The results show that, at resonance, there are specific visual patterns that could be used for the identification of the presence of NPs at the nucleus' surface. The model demonstrates the capability to model the specific conditions of OPCM image enhancement by optically controlling the resonant properties of the NPs