Many problems in mechanobiology urgently require characterization of the micromechanical properties of cells and tissues. Brillouin light scattering has been proposed as an emerging optical elastography technique to meet this need. However, the information contained in the Brillouin spectrum is still a matter of debate because of fundamental problems in understanding the role of water in biomechanics and in relating the Brillouin data to low-frequency macroscopic mechanical parameters. Here, we investigate this question using gelatin as a model system in which the macroscopic physical properties can be manipulated to mimic all the relevant biological states of matter, ranging from the liquid to the gel and the glassy phase. We demonstrate that Brillouin spectroscopy is able to reveal both the elastic and viscous properties of biopolymers that are central to the structure and function of biological tissues.

Brillouin microscopy is a new form of optical elastography and an emerging technique in mechanobiology and biomedical physics. It was applied here to map the viscoelastic properties of human hair and to determine the effect of bleaching on hair properties. For hair samples, longitudinal measurements (i.e. along the fibre axis) revealed peaks at 18.7 and 20.7 GHz at the location of the cuticle and cortex, respectively. For hair treated with a bleaching agent, the frequency shifts for the cuticle and cortex were 19.7 and 21.0 GHz, respectively, suggesting that bleaching increases the cuticle modulus and—to a minor extent—the cortex modulus. These results demonstrate the capability of Brillouin spectroscopy to address questions on micromechanical properties of hair and to validate the effect of applied treatments.

Brillouin spectroscopy is an emerging analytical tool in biomedical and biophysical sciences. It probes viscoelasticity through the propagation of thermally induced acoustic waves at gigahertz frequencies. Brillouin light scattering (BLS) measurements have traditionally been performed using multipass Fabry-Pérot interferometers, which have high contrast and resolution, however, as they are scanning spectrometers they often require long acquisition times in poorly scattering media. In the last decade, a new concept of Brillouin spectrometer has emerged, making use of highly angle-dispersive virtually imaged phase array (VIPA) etalons, which enable fast acquisition times for minimally turbid materials, when high contrast is not imperative. The ability to acquire Brillouin spectra rapidly, together with long term system stability, make this system a viable candidate for use in biomedical applications, especially to probe live cells and tissues. While various methods are being developed to improve system contrast and speed, little work has been published discussing the details of imaging data analysis and spectral processing. Here we present a method that we developed for the automated retrieval of Brillouin line shape parameters from imaging data sets acquired with a dual-stage VIPA Brillouin microscope. We applied this method for the first time to BLS measurements of collagen gelatin hydrogels at different hydration levels and cross-linker concentrations. This work demonstrates that it is possible to obtain the relevant information from Brillouin spectra using software for real-time high-accuracy analysis.

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