Nonlinear optical effects used for investigations on biological samples at micro and nanoscale

In our work we present some investigations on biological samples at micro and nanoscale by using nonlinear effects in laser scanning microscopy techniques. We developed an integrated multimodal system that allows for the simultaneous image acquisition from multiple optical imaging modalities. Our system includes several microscopy techniques working in far field and in near field. The main advantage of the system is connected with the possibility to image the same area of the sample at micro and nanoscale so that a correlation between the images could be made and an explanation of the images at nanoscale can be done. By overlaying the structural images obtained from different techniques, a more comprehensive view of different biological specimens can be obtained. In addition the possibility to see the same sample area at micro and nanoscales offers the possibility to make a connection between the different elements of the biological structures.