title: Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy of complex biological systems: from intact cells to whole organisms.
abstract: Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy is a powerful tool for the study of complex biological systems. Indeed, it is employed to characterize intact cells, tissues, and whole model organisms such as nematodes, since it allows to obtain a chemical fingerprint of the sample under investigation, giving information on the molecular composition and structures. The successful application of this technique for the in situ study of biological processes requires specific sample preparations, in order to obtain reliable and reproducible results. In the present work, we illustrate the optimized procedures to prepare biological samples for IR measurements and the method to collect and analyze their FTIR spectra. In particular, we describe here the investigations on bacterial cells, intact eukaryotic cells, and whole intact nematode specimens.
authors: Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
authors: Diletta
authors: D
authors: Ami
authors: Antonino
authors: A
authors: Natalello
authors: Silvia Maria
authors: SM
authors: Doglia
mesh_terms: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D004926:Escherichia coli; D006801:Humans; D002479:Inclusion Bodies / Q000378:metabolism; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D051379:Mice; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D020836:Protein Structure, Quaternary; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D012984:Software; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins