Laser ablation and ionization for nano-mass cytometry

用于纳米质量细胞计数的激光烧蚀和电离

• 批准号: 539026-2019
• 负责人: Corkum, Paul
• 金额: $ 11.66万
• 依托单位: University of Ottawa
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Collaborative Research and Development Grants
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=720636
• 关键词: Laser; ablation; ionization; nano; mass

Mass spectrometry is one of the most powerful methods for identifying biological molecules. Its importance was recognized by a Nobel Prize for injecting molecules into a vacuum and ionizing them once they are there. Microscopy is even more essential to medical science. Image resolution is often limited to approximately a wavelength of light or ~ 0.5 microns. This limit, however, can be broken by "super-resolution imaging," where 10 times smaller features are achieved. The Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded for super-resolution microscopy. Surprisingly, super-resolution has never been combined with mass spectrometry. The combination requires ablation from sub-cellular regions - regions far smaller than a visible light focal spot. Achieving super-resolution mass spectrometry would offer chemical and biological information at the most fundamental spatial scale for biology. Super-resolution mass spectrometry is a grand vision. It strongly influences the detailed choice we make in our 3-year proposal and it influences Fluidigm's choice of support. Fluidigm works with mass cytometry, a form of mass spectrometry where atomic markers identify biological function. The first critical issue for Fluidigm as they develop super-resolution mass cytometry is to break each ablated region into its atomic components and measure them efficiently. Our aim for this joint theoretical and experimental project is sub-wavelength ablation combined with efficient all-optical material breakup and ionization. We will use VUV radiation to inject ~10^19 cm^-3 electrons into a 50 nm thick cell section. These electrons will serve as a nano-antenna seeding infrared driven avalanche ionization and ablation. We propose to continuing to irradiate the sample with an infrared beam and thereby continue to heat the material, breaking it into atomic fragments and ionizing it.

质谱是鉴定生物分子的最有力的方法之一。 它的重要性得到了诺贝尔奖的认可，因为它将分子注入真空并在那里电离它们。 显微镜对医学科学来说更是必不可少的。 图像分辨率通常被限制在大约一个光波长或约0.5微米。然而，这种限制可以通过“超分辨率成像”来打破，其中实现了10倍小的特征。 诺贝尔化学奖授予超分辨率显微镜。 令人惊讶的是，超分辨率从未与质谱法相结合。 这种结合需要从亚细胞区域消融--远小于可见光焦点的区域。实现超分辨率质谱将在生物学最基本的空间尺度上提供化学和生物信息。 超分辨率质谱是一个宏伟的愿景。 它强烈影响了我们在3年提案中做出的详细选择，并影响了Fluidigm的支持选择。 Fluidigm与质谱仪一起工作，质谱仪是一种原子标记识别生物功能的质谱仪。 Fluidigm在开发超分辨率质谱仪时的第一个关键问题是将每个消融区域分解为原子成分并有效地测量它们。 我们的目标是这个联合的理论和实验项目是亚波长烧蚀结合有效的全光学材料分裂和电离。 我们将使用真空紫外辐射将约10^19 cm^-3的电子注入50 nm厚的细胞切片。这些电子将作为一个纳米天线播种红外驱动雪崩电离和消融。 我们建议继续用红外光束照射样品，从而继续加热材料，将其破碎成原子碎片并电离。