Consensus Statement on Brillouin Light Scattering Microscopy of Biological Materials

TL;DR

Brillouin Light Scattering microscopy is a promising, non-invasive technique for assessing the mechanical properties of biological materials, with recent advancements enabling imaging and increased sensitivity, but standardization is needed.

Contribution

This consensus statement provides reporting guidelines and discusses artifacts to improve comparability of BLS studies in biological research.

Findings

Standardized reporting improves study comparability

Identification of common artifacts in BLS measurements

Recommendations for measurement parameters

Abstract

Brillouin Light Scattering (BLS) spectroscopy is a non-invasive, non-contact, label-free optical technique that can provide information on the mechanical properties of a material on the sub-micron scale. Over the last decade it has seen increased applications in the life sciences, driven by the observed significance of mechanical properties in biological processes, the realization of more sensitive BLS spectrometers and its extension to an imaging modality. As with other spectroscopic techniques, BLS measurements not only detect signals characteristic of the investigated sample, but also of the experimental apparatus, and can be significantly affected by measurement conditions. The aim of this consensus statement is to improve the comparability of BLS studies by providing reporting recommendations for the measured parameters and detailing common artifacts. Given that most BLS studies of biological matter are still at proof-of-concept stages and use different--often self-built--spectrometers, a consensus statement is particularly timely to assure unified advancement.