2022

Master’s thesis

on the topic:

“Software development for a multimodal high-throughput imaging and spectroscopy system for cell analysis”

Ayman Bali

Due to the preservation of sample integrity, marker-free imaging techniques are of crucial importance for the investigation of biological cell processes. Raman spectroscopy as a label-free imaging approach has received a lot of attention in research and even therapeutic applications, especially in the last decade.

Raman measurements are generally very time-consuming because they are performed manually. This often leads to the analysis of only a small number of samples and, for this reason, a lack of clarity in statistical evaluations. However, the use of Raman spectroscopy in combination with microscopy offers the potential to enable rapid, automated, label-free screening of cells.

This master’s thesis aimed to develop LabVIEW software for high-throughput multimodal microscopy imaging and the collection of Raman spectra of biological cells. The multimodal methods include brightfield, phase-contrast and fluorescence microscopy. In addition, various image processing algorithms, including autofocus and cell detection to reduce acquisition times during cell analysis, have been integrated into the software.
Simultaneous spectral acquisition and imaging with multiple microscopy methods enables detailed spectral and spatial information of the samples to be obtained. The additional combination with the automated spectral acquisition of the molecular fingerprint of cells also results in label-free, high-throughput screening of the sample.