title: Angular resolved light scattering for discriminating among marine picoplankton: modeling and experimental measurements.
abstract: In order to assess the capability to optically identify small marine microbes, both simulations and experiments of angular resolved light scattering (ARLS) were performed. After calibration with 30-nm vesicles characterized by a nearly constant scattering distribution for vertically polarized light (azimuthal angle=90 degrees ), ARLS from suspensions of three types of marine picoplankton (two prokaryotes and one eukaryote) in seawater was measured with a scattering device that consisted of an elliptical mirror, a rotating aperture, and a PMT. Scattered light was recorded with adequate signal-to-noise in the 40-140 degrees . Simulations modeled the cells as prolate spheroids with independently measured dimensions. For the prokaryotes, approximated as homogeneous spheroids, simulations were performed using the RM (Rayleigh-Mie) - I method, a hybrid of the Rayleigh-Debye approximation and the generalized Lorentz-Mie theory. For the picoeukaryote, an extended RM - I method was developed for a coated spheroid with different shell thickness distributions. The picoeukaryote was then modeled as a coated sphere with a spherical core. Good overall agreements were obtained between simulations and experiments. The distinctive scattering patterns of the different species hold promise for an identification system based on ARLS.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.forename: Jules S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Jaffe
authors.forename: Mirianas
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chachisvilis
authors.forename: Sadik C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Esener