Molecular third-harmonic-generation microscopy through resonance enhancement with absorbing dye

This paper reports a facile and effortless method to realize three-dimensional (3D) molecular third-harmonic-generation (THG) microscopy through the technique of resonance enhancement with absorbing dye. Hematoxylin, a popular absorbing stain, is applied as an example to verify the multiphoton resonant enhancement based on the 1230 nm excitation light and can selectively enhance THG yield at cell nuclear sites in the studied specimens, serving as a cell nucleus contrast agent. It is concluded that combining THG microscopy with the mature staining technique can readily achieve 3D molecular imaging without using fluorescence. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America.