MRI:Development of a CARS Microscope for Molecular Vibration-Selective Measurements

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With support from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Instrument Development Program, the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities Program and the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities, the Department of Chemistry at the University of Chicago will develop a Coherent Anti Stokes Raman Spectroscopy (CARS) Microscope for studying molecular vibrations of condensed biomaterials. This equipment will be used to study lipid membranes, cell interactions, biogenisis, vesicle transport, cell protein- support interactions, cell mobility and dynamics, and cell morphology. The CARS microscope is a high resolution imaging method that generates an optical image of a material by probing the vibrational resonances of the molecular fragments intrinsic to the substance being investigated. It is a very useful for probing materials such as biological cells and tissues since it is a non-invasive technique that does not use tags or dyes to produce the image. Such materials are especially responsive to the technique of Raman spectroscopy that underlies the imaging mechanism since biomaterials have diverse vibrational spectroscopy properties that can allow chemical characterization of the spot being probed. The microscope being developed in this project will have a fast response capability allowing the dynamical study of changes occuring in the biomaterial. The microscope will be housed in the NanoBiology Facility at the University of Chicago, a shared use facility, providing access for a large number of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. This will enhance their interdiscipinary training with a new methodology.