Depolarization diagrams for circularly polarized light scattering for biological particle monitoring

TL;DR

This paper develops depolarization diagrams for circularly polarized light scattering in turbid media, revealing how depolarization varies with particle size and wavelength, aiding biological particle monitoring.

Contribution

It introduces generalized depolarization diagrams as functions of particle size and wavelength, enhancing understanding of light scattering in biological tissues.

Findings

Depolarization intensity varies with particle size and wavelength.

Multiple scattering intensifies depolarization effects.

Diagrams enable potential applications in biological monitoring.

Abstract

Significance: The depolarization of circularly polarized light caused by scattering in turbid media reveals structural information about the dispersed particles, such as their size, density, and distribution, which is useful for investigating the state of biological tissue. However, the correlation between depolarization strength and tissue parameters is unclear. Aim: We aimed to examine the generalized correlations of depolarization strength with the particle size and wavelength, yielding depolarization diagrams. Approach: The correlation between depolarization intensity and size parameter were examined for single and multiple scattering using the Monte Carlo simulation method. Expanding the wavelength width allows us to obtain depolarization distribution diagrams as functions of wavelength and particle diameter for reflection and transparent geometries. Results: Circularly polarized light suffers intensive depolarization in a single scattering against particles of various specific sizes for its wavelength, which becomes more noticeable in the multiple scattering regime. Conclusions: The depolarization diagrams with particle size and wavelength as independent variables were obtained, which are particularly helpful for investigating the feasibility of various particle-monitoring methods. Based on the obtained diagrams, several applications have been proposed, including blood cell monitoring, early embryogenesis, and antigen-antibody interactions.