Chemical imaging of biological tissue with synchrotron infrared light.
Fourier transform infrared micro-spectroscopy (FTIRM) and imaging (FTIRI) have become valuable techniques for examining the chemical makeup of biological materials by probing their vibrational motions on a microscopic scale. Synchrotron infrared (S-IR) light is an ideal source for FTIRM and FTIRI due to the combination of its high brightness (i.e., flux density), also called brilliance, and broadband nature. Through a 10-microm pinhole, the brightness of a synchrotron source is 100-1000 times higher than a conventional thermal (globar) source. Accordingly, the improvement in spatial resolution and in spectral quality to the diffraction limit has led to a plethora of applications that is just being realized. In this review, we describe the development of synchrotron-based FTIRM, illustrate its advantages in many applications to biological systems, and propose some potential future directions for the technique.
Miller
Lisa M
LM
National Synchrotron Light Source, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA. lmiller@bnl.gov
Dumas
Paul
P
D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002621:Chemistry; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006801:Humans; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared / Q000295:instrumentation*; D017356:Synchrotrons