MRI: ID-Development of a Hybrid Scanning Fluorescence and Sum Frequency Spectroscopy Imaging Microscope

凭借重大研究仪器计划(MRI)的这一奖项，来自缅因州大学化学系的Michael Mason和他的同事们将开发一种混合扫描荧光(FL)和和频率(SF)光谱成像显微镜。该仪器将通过在现有的宽带SF光谱仪上增加样品扫描和FL功能来构建。SF的近红外泵浦光源将在样品界面激发SF，而调制的Ar离子连续激光将激发FL。这些共线源将产生空间和时间上相关的SF和FL信号，它们将被分离并单独检测。该仪器将同时测量荧光和总频率，以产生关于单个粒子(即蛋白质)的局域动力学信息，以及关于包含该粒子的大宗材料的空间相关结构信息。这将产生任何其他方法都无法访问的有关粒子和块体之间相互作用的信息。该提案将首先调查测试项目，包括研究膜结构域结构和膜-膜相互作用，例如，平面支撑的脂双层内脂类和蛋白质分子的结构和动力学的相关性。该仪器的成功开发可能会在从表面化学和生物物理到纳米技术和细胞生物学的几个领域取得重大突破。

With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation program (MRI), Michael Mason and colleagues from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Maine will develop a hybrid scanning fluorescence (FL) and sum frequency (SF) spectroscopy imaging microscope. The instrument will be constructed by the addition of sample scanning and FL capability to an existing broadband SF spectrometer. The SF NIR pump source will be used to excite SF at the sample interface, while a modulated Argon ion CW laser will excite FL. These collinear sources will give rise to spatially and temporally correlated SF and FL signals which will be separated and individually detected. The instrument will simultaneously measure the fluorescence and sum frequency to yield information about the localized dynamics of a single particle, i.e. protein, and spatially correlated structural information about the bulk material containing the particle. This yields information about the interaction between the particle and the bulk not accessible by any other method. The proposal will initially investigate test projects including the study of membrane domain structure and membrane-membrane interactions, e,g., correlation of the structure and dynamics of lipid and protein molecules within planar supported lipid bilayers. Successful development of this instrument could lead to major breakthroughs in several fields ranging from surface chemistry and biophysics to nanotechnology and cellular biology..