The optical refractive index of cellular components is generally not a property considered amenable to manipulation in microscopy as this is an intrinsic physical property of materials. Here we show that by targeting cephalopod reflectin protein nanoparticles one can manipulate the optical refractive index of mammalian cellular compartments. We further demonstrate that refractive index alteration based contrast agents can be utilized for dark field microscopy and quantitative phase contrast holotomography. Additionally we have molecularly cloned novel reflectins with improved and novel optical properties.

中文翻译：

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活细胞中光学折射率的遗传操作

细胞组分的光学折射率通常不是被认为适合显微镜操作的特性，因为这是材料的固有物理特性。在这里，我们表明通过靶向头足类反射蛋白纳米颗粒，可以操纵哺乳动物细胞区室的光学折射率。我们进一步证明，基于折射率改变的造影剂可用于暗视野显微镜和定量相衬全息术。另外，我们已经分子克隆了具有改善的和新颖的光学性质的新型反射蛋白。