Fabrication and validation of an LED array microscope for multimodal, quantitative imaging

The combination of multiple imaging modalities in a single microscopy system can enable new insights into biological processes. In this work, we describe the construction and rig-orous characterization of a custom microscope with multimodal imaging in a single, cost-effective system. Our design utilizes advances in LED technology, robotics, and open-source software, along with existing optical components and precision optomechanical parts to offer a modular and versatile design. This microscope is operated using software written in Arduino and Python and has the ability to run multi-day automated imaging experi-ments when placed inside of a cell culture incubator. Additionally, we provide and demon-strate methods to validate images taken in brightfield and darkfield, along with validation and optimization for differential phase contrast (DPC) quantitative phase imaging. (c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).