COHERENT BACKSCATTER ENHANCES REFLECTION CONFOCAL MICROSCOPY

When thin optically transparent specimens are grown on reflective subs trates, contrast in reflection confocal microscopy is markedly enhance d. This enhanced contrast allows for the visualization of the thin fil opodia and organelles contained within the neuritic processes of PC12 cells in culture. The characteristics of this contrast enhancement sug gest that it arises because of interference between light scattered fr om rile specimen and coherently backscattered illumination reflected o ff the substrate. This technique provides a method for visualizing liv ing cells or other similarly transparent objects on opaque substrates in a nondestructive manner.