It seems some damage to the cells, even if it is minor, during imaging is rather common for us. Do you have any recommendations for rehabilitating cells after imaging to minimize damage.

Answer

Exposure of cell culture media to fluorescent light can cause the formation of free radicals which can damage cells. I would suggest that you give your cells a fresh supply of new media immediately after imaging in fluorescent light. I would also suggest that you transfer your cells back to a CO2 & 37°C incubator as soon as possible. To help prevent cell damage from occurring, I would recommend using a cell culture medium such as FluoroBrite that has low background fluorescence. This will reduce the need for using high laser light intensities that can harm cells.