785 nm laser for a Raman microscope

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This proposal seeks funds for a new 785 nm laser excitation kit for our Raman microscope system. The Raman microscope is the workhorse for the PIs research groups, and it is used by several other researchers from UVic for materials characterization. The 785 nm excitation is essential because it allows the study of several materials that produce strong background fluorescence in the visible by Raman spectroscopy. It also allow the study of surface-enhanced Raman effects from surface nanostructures fabricated using nanotechnology methods. The requested laser excitation kit is essential for the realization of several projects. For instance, a study of the spatial distribution and extent of radiation damage in prostate cancer cells irradiated with ionizing radiation from a medical linear accelerator used in cancer therapy. In this project, we will be growing health and cancerous prostate cells and will submit these cells to typical doses of ionizing radiation used in clinical radiotherapy. The changes in the chemical composition of the cells will be followed by Raman mapping using 785 nm excitation. The objective is to correlate the chemical changes provoked by the radiation with the dose and cancer progression. This work will be carried out in collaboration with researchers from the BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver Island. Another type of project is related to our efforts to study single molecular events from molecules adsorbed on those nanostructures. This efforts has basically two fronts: One of them is on the optimization of the parameters of the nanostructures to obtain the required sensitivity for single molecule detection. The second is the study of single molecule process in electrochemical environment.