Virgis Barzda

Virginijus Barzda

Title/Position
Ph.D. | Professor | Physics | Biophysics and Physical Chemistry | Undergraduate Academic Advisor

Research

A picture of Barzda's research

Our research focuses on the development of new imaging modalities for multimodal non linear microscopy. Currently we employ second harmonic generation, third harmonic generation and multiphoton excitation fluorescence contrast mechanisms, which are generated simultaneously after femtosecond pulse excitation. Our microscopes are tailored to image non-invasively live cells and subcellular organelles. We investigate intracellular dynamics in photosynthetic systems, research contractility mechanisms in cardiac and skeletal muscle cells, and study structural organization of cancerous tissue.

Courses Taught:

PHY146H5, PHY333H5, and PHY433H5 (undergraduate); PHY2711H1 (graduate)

Publications

Recent:

MacAulay, H., Cisek, R., Mehdi A., Barzda, V., Kreplak, L. and Tokarz, D. (2023) High Numerical Aperture Imaging Allows Chirality Measurement in Individual Collagen Fibrils Using Polarization Second Harmonic Generation Microscopy, Nanophotonics, in press, doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2023-0177.

Uribe Castano, L., Mirsanaye, K., Kontenis, L., Krouglov, S., Zurauskas, E., Navab, R., Yasufuku, K., Tsao, M-S., Akens, M.K., Wilson, B. C., and Barzda, V. (2023) Wide-field Stokes polarimetric microscopy for second harmonic generation imaging, J. Biophotonics, e202200284, 1-12, https://doi.org/10.1002/jbio.202200284.

Mirsanaye, K., Uribe Castano, L., Kamaliddin, Y., Golaraei, A., Kontenis, L., Zurauskas, E., Navab, R., Yasufuku, K., Tsao, M-S., Wilson, B.C., and Barzda, V. (2022) Unsupervised determination of lung tumor margin with widefield polarimetric second‑harmonic generation microscopy, Sci. Rep., 12:20713, https://doi.or/10.1038/s41598-022-24973-1.

Mirsanaye, K., Uribe Castano, L., Kamaliddin, Y., Golaraei, A., Augulis, R., Kontenis, L., Done, S.J., Zurauskas, E., Stambolic, V., Wilson, B.C. and Barzda, V. (2022) Machine learning‑enabled cancer diagnostics with widefield polarimetric second‑harmonic generation microscopy, Sci. Rep., 12, 10290, https://doi.or/10.1038/s41598-022-13623-1.

Jarockyte, G., Poderys, V.,Barzda, V., Barabanovas, V., and Rotomskis, R. (2022). Blood Plasma Stabilized Gold Nanoclusters for Personalized Tumor Theranostics, Cancers, 14(8):1887, doi.org/10.3390/cancers14081887.

Pleckaitis, M., Haback, F., Kontenis, L., Steinbach, G., Jarockyte, G., Kalnaityte, A., Domonkos, I., Akhtar, P., Alizadeh, M., Bagdonas, S., Karabanovas, V., Garab, G., Rotomskis, R., and Barzda, V. (2022) Structure and principles of self-assembly of giant “sea urchin” type sulfonatophenyl porphine aggregates, Nano Res. DOI: 10.1007/s12274-021-4048-x.

Karunendiran, A., Mirsanaye ,K., Stewart, B. A. and Barzda, V. (2022) Second Harmonic Generation Properties in Chiral Sarcomeres of Drosophila Larvae Muscles. Frontiers in Physics. DOI: 10.3389/fphy.2022.758709.

Karumendiran A., Nguyen, C. T., Barzda, V. and Stewart, B. A. (2021). Disruption of Drosophila larval muscle structure and function by UNC45 knockdown, BMC Mol. Cell Biol. 22(1):38.

Tokarz, D., Cisek, R., and Barzda, V. (2021). Polarimetric Nonlinear Microscopy of Starch Granules: Visualization of the Structural Order of a(alpha sign)-Glucan Chains within a Native Starch Publishers and CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group. Boca Raton, FL, USA. ISBN 9781138505209.

Karunendiran, A., Mirsanaye ,K., Stewart, B. A. and Barzda, V. (2022) Second Harmonic Generation Properties in Chiral Sarcomeres of Drosophila Larvae Muscles. Frontiers in Physics. DOI: 10.3389/fphy.2022.758709.

Abramavicius, D., Krouglov, S. and Barzda, V. (2021) Second harmonic generation theory for a helical macromolecule with high sensitivity to structural disorder. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 23(36):20201-20217.

Tokarz, D., Cisek, R., Joseph, A., Asa, S.L., Wilson, B.C. and Barzda, V. (2020) Characterization of pathological thyroid tissue using polarization sensitive second harmonic generation microscopy, Lab. Invest., 100(10):1280-1287.

Golaraei, A., Mostaço-Guidolin, L.B., Raja, V., Navab, R., Wang, T., Sakashita, S., Yasufuku, K., Tsao, M.-S., Wilson, B.C., and Barzda, V. (2020) Polarimetric second-harmonic generation microscopy of the hierarchical structure of collagen in stage I-III non-small cell lung carcinoma, Biomed. Opt. Express, 11(4): 1851-1863.

Golaraei, A., Kontenis, L., Karunendiran, A., Stewart, B.A., and Barzda, V. (2020) Dual- and single-shot susceptibility ratio measurements with circular polarizations in second-harmonic generation microscopy, J. Biophotonics, e201960167, 1-9.

Zhao, H., Cisek, R., Karunendiran, A., Tokarz, D., Stewart, B.A. and Barzda, V. (2019) Live imaging of contracting muscles with wide-field second harmonic generation microscopy using a high power laser, Biomed. Opt. Express, 10(10):5130-5135.

Mirsanaye, K., Golaraei, A., Habach, F., Zurauskas, E., Venius, J., Rotomskis, R. and Barzda, V. (2019) Polar organization of collagen in human cardiac tissue revealed with polarimetric second-harmonic generation microscopy, Biomed. Opt. Express, 10(10):5025-5030.

Golaraei, A., Kontenis L., Mirsanaye, K., Krouglov, S., Akens, M.K., Wilson, B.C. and Barzda, V. (2019) Complex susceptibilities and chiroptical effects of collagen measured with polarimetric second-harmonic generation microscopy, Sci. Reports, 9:12488.

Tokarz, D., Cisek, R., Joseph, A., Golaraei, A., Mirsanaye, K., Krouglov, S., Asa, S.L., Wilson, B. and Barzda, V. (2019) Characterization of pancreatic cancer tissue using multiphoton excitation fluorescence and polarization-sensitive harmonic generation microscopy, Frontiers in Oncology, 9: Article 272.

Krouglov, S. and Barzda, V. (2019) Three-dimensional nonlinear Stokes–Mueller polarimetry, J. Opt. Soc. Am. B, 36(2):541-550.

Golaraei, A., Mirsanaye, K., Ro, Y., Krouglov, S., Akens, M.K., Wilson, B.C. and Barzda, V. (2018) Collagen chirality and three-dimensional orientation studied with polarimetric second-harmonic generation microscopy, J. Biophotonics, e201800241, 1-9.

Fung, K.L.B., Samim, M., Gribble, A., Barzda, V. and Vitkin, I.A. (2018) Monte Carlo simulation of polarization-sensitive second-harmonic generation and propagation in biological tissue, J. Biophotonics, e201800036, 1-11.

Cisek, R., Tokarz, D., Kontenis, L., Barzda, V. and Steup, M. (2018) Polarimetric second harmonic generation microscopy: An analytical tool for starch bioengineering, Starch/Stärke, 70: 1700031 1-15 (review).

Karunendiran, A., Cisek, R., Tokarz, D., Barzda, V. and Stewart, B.A. (2017) Examination of Drosophila eye development with third harmonic generation microscopy, Biomed Opt. Express, 8(10):4505-4513.

Burke, M., Golaraei, A., Atkins, A., Akens, M., Barzda, V. and Whyne, C. (2017) Collagen fibril organization within rat vertebral bone modified with metastatic involvement, J. Struct. Biol. 199:153-164.

Krouglov, S. and Barzda, V. (2017) Modified Gibbs’s representation of rotation matrix, Ann. Fond. Louis de Broglie, 42(2):1-15.

Kontenis L., Samim, M., Krouglov, S. and Barzda, V. (2017) Third-harmonic generation Stokes-Mueller polarimetric microscopy, Opt. Express, 25(12):13174-13189.

Samim, M., Krouglov, S., James, D. F. and Barzda, V. (2016) Characterization of heterogeneous media using nonlinear Stokes–Mueller polarimetry, J. Opt. Soc. Am. B, 33: 2617-2625.

Golaraei, A., Kontenis, L., Cisek, R., Tokarz, D., Done, S. J., Wilson, B. C., and Barzda, V. (2016) Changes of collagen ultrastructure in breast cancer tissue determined by second-harmonic generation double Stokes-Mueller polarimetric microscopy, Biomed Opt. Express, 7: 4054-4068.

Samim, M., Krouglov, S. and Barzda, V. (2016) Three-photon Stokes-Mueller polarimetry, Phys. Rev. A., 93: 033839-1-13.

Samim, M., Krouglov, S. and Barzda, V. (2016) Nonlinear Stokes-Mueller polarimetry, Phys. Rev. A., 93:013847-1-6.

Kontenis, L., Samim, M., Karunendiran, A., Krouglov, S., Stewart, B. and Barzda, V. (2016) Second harmonic generation double Stokes Mueller polarimetric microscopy of myofilaments, Biomed. Opt. Express, 7:559-569.

Cui, L., Tokarz, D., Cisek, R., Ng, K.K., Wang, F., Chen, J., Barzda, V. and Zheng, G. (2015) Organized aggregation of porphyrins in lipid bilayer for third harmonic generation microscopy, Angew. Chem., 127:14134-14138.

Cisek, R., Tokarz, D., Steup, M., Tetlow, I.J., Emes, M.J., Hebelstrup, K.H., Blennow, A. and Barzda, V. (2015) Second harmonic generation microscopy investigation of the crystalline ultrastructure of three barley starch lines affected by hydration, Biomed. Opt. Express, 6: 3694-3700.

Tokarz, D., Cisek, R., Golaraei, A., Asa, S.L., Barzda, V. and Wilson B.C. (2015) Ultrastructural features of collagen in thyroid carcinoma tissue observed by polarization second harmonic generation microscopy, Biomed. Opt. Express, 6: 3475-3480.

Samim, M., Krouglov, S. and Barzda, V. (2015) Double Stokes Mueller polarimetry of second harmonic generation in ordered molecular structures, J. Opt. Soc. Am. B, 32: 451-461.