TY - JOUR T1 - Refractive index as an intrinsic imaging contrast for 3-D label-free live cell imaging JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/106328 SP - 106328 AU - Doyeon Kim AU - SangYun Lee AU - Moosung Lee AU - JunTaek Oh AU - Su-A Yang AU - YongKeun Park Y1 - 2017/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/02/06/106328.abstract N2 - Live cell imaging provides critical information in the investigation of cell biology and related pathophysiology. Refractive index (RI) can serve as intrinsic optical imaging contrast for 3-D label-free and quantitative live cell imaging, and provide invaluable information to understand various dynamics of cells and tissues for the study of numerous fields. Recently significant advances have been made in imaging methods and analysis approaches utilizing RI, which are now being transferred to biological and medical research fields, providing novel approaches to investigate the pathophysiology of cells. To provide insight how RI can be used as an imaging contrast for bioimaging, here we provide the basic principle of RI-based imaging techniques and summarize recent progress on applications, ranging from microbiology, hematology, infectious diseases, hematology, and histopathology.Impact Statement The use of refractive index has been utilized for label-free and quantitative imaging contrast of cells and tissues. This mini review presents the principles of imaging techniques which exploit refractive index as an intrinsic optical imaging contrast, discusses the advantages and challenges, and summarize recent progress in various fields of biology and medicine. ER -