Abstract
Speckle interferometry techniques based on the phase-detection method have been widely used to observe microstructures beyond the diffraction limit, and the observations of hard solid samples such as microspheres and micro-characters have been previously reported. In this study, the possibility of applying this super-resolution technology to the observation of biological tissues is investigated using plant-cell chromosomes, which are relatively easy to handle and compatible with the diffraction limit. The results reveal that the new super-resolution technique, which is based on speckle interferometry, can be used to observe cellular tissues with complex structures that are subjected to conventional cell-fixation treatments similar to solid samples. However, the shape of the fixed-treated chromosomes is distorted and differs from that of living cells. Furthermore, when observing real living cells using current optics systems, the sample is typically observed vertically. This study indicates that these optics systems must be improved to allow horizontal placements of the samples in the culture medium.