OP: Collaborative Research: Multimodal Molecular Spectroscopy and Imaging in Biological Tissue and Historical Artwork

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With support from the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program in the Division of Chemistry, the Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Experimental Physics Program in the Division of Physics, and the Office of International Science and Engineering, Professors Martin Fischer, Warren Warren, Khanh Kieu and their groups will develop optical microscopy techniques to create high-resolution images with novel molecular and structural contrast. These imaging methods can provide detailed chemical information even below the surface and do not require the physical removal of samples to create three-dimensional maps. These techniques are ideally suited for imaging of biological tissue and historical works of art, where the removal of a sample is restricted or even impossible. Information obtained from these chemical maps can help lay the scientific foundation for the development of new methods to diagnose diseases in biological tissue and give conservators information needed to repair or even prevent damage or degradation in irreplaceable works of art.The loss of function in biological tissue and historical artworks, such as discoloration or cracking in a painting or disease in tissue, generally is reflected in changes in the molecular composition or structure on a microscopic scale. A major challenge in diagnostic evaluation is that to obtain this information, mechanical sample removal is generally required. In response to this challenge, this research seeks to develop a multimodal detection method based on nonlinear pump-probe microscopy to noninvasively map pigments and their surroundings with high spatial resolution in three dimensions. Specifically, the techniques being developed access novel contrast mechanisms (such as nonlinear phase contrast) which give much higher specificity and a wider range of endogenous targets. Furthermore, critical degradation processes are being studied in tissue and artwork, including inherent (e.g. natural degradation) and induced (e.g. photodegradation) processes. Lastly, the team is working toward dissemination of suitable instruments using these techniques to the biomedical and conservation science communities.