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

在主要研究仪器（MRI）仪器开发计划、化学研究仪器和设施计划以及多学科活动办公室的支持下，芝加哥大学化学系将开发相干反斯托克斯拉曼光谱（CARS）显微镜，用于研究凝聚生物材料的分子振动。 该设备将用于研究脂质膜、细胞相互作用、生物发生、囊泡运输、细胞蛋白支持相互作用、细胞流动性和动力学以及细胞形态。 CARS 显微镜是一种高分辨率成像方法，通过探测所研究物质固有的分子片段的振动共振来生成材料的光学图像。 它对于探测生物细胞和组织等材料非常有用，因为它是一种非侵入性技术，不使用标签或染料来生成图像。 此类材料对作为成像机制基础的拉曼光谱技术特别敏感，因为生物材料具有多种振动光谱特性，可以对被探测点进行化学表征。 该项目中开发的显微镜将具有快速响应能力，可以对生物材料中发生的变化进行动态研究。 该显微镜将安置在芝加哥大学的纳米生物学设施中，这是一个共享设施，为大量研究生和博士后研究人员提供了使用机会。 这将通过新的方法加强他们的跨学科培训。

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.