Polarization staining and high-throughput detection of marine microalgae using single cell average Mueller matrices

Abstract We take low resolution Muller matrix images of microalgae using a Mueller matrix microscope based on time sequential polarization measurements and obtain a characteristic average Mueller matrix (AMM) which can be evaluated for each cell from the average values of the polarization component images. Using the 136 first and second order terms of the characteristic Mueller matrix elements and linear discriminant analysis (LDA), we can obtain a characteristic polarization parameter for each type of algae and use it to stain and identify these specific cells in a mixed sample containing three strains microalgae with an accuracy higher than 84%. The results demonstrate that AMM can be used for the high-throughput detection of marine microalgae.