Shaped beam scattering from a single lymphocyte cell by generalized Lorenz–Mie theory

With the aim of improving the measurement capabilities of laser-based diagnostic instruments for cells, an eccentric stratified dielectric sphere model illuminated by an arbitrary shaped beam is applied to the modeling of light scattering by a single nucleated cell within the framework of the generalized Lorenz–Mie theory (GLMT). A particular attention is paid to the study of scattering properties of a lymphocyte cell from an arbitrary incident Gaussian beam. Numerical results concerning the influence of shaped beam parameters (beam waist radius, incident angle, location of beam center) as well as of cellular parameters (ratio of nucleus size to cell size, location of the nucleus within the cell) on the scattering properties are presented and discussed, with comparisons to the scattering behaviors from a concentric stratified sphere model. The results reveal that the forward scattering intensities are mainly determined by the cell size regardless of the nucleus/cell ratio, while sideward scattering signals are sensitive to the change of cell internal structure. As the beam waist radius varies, the scattering patterns in the present cases are similar to each other, although the absolute intensities are different. Additionally, location of the nucleus within the cell, incident angle of the beam as well as location of the beam waist center play significant effects on the light scattering intensity distributions. -- Highlights: • Laser scattering of a lymphocyte cell is modeled by an eccentric sphere with GLMT. • Influence of shaped beam parameters on the scattering properties is studied. • Influence of cellular parameters on the scattering properties is discussed. • Forward scattering intensities are mainly determined by the cell size. • The scattering patterns are similar to each other as the beam waist radius varies