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

从主要研究仪器计划（MRI）的这个奖项，迈克尔梅森和同事从化学系在缅因州大学将开发一个混合扫描荧光（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能力来构建。SF NIR泵浦源将用于在样品界面处激发SF，而调制的氩离子CW激光将激发FL。这些共线源将产生空间和时间相关的SF和FL信号，这些信号将被分离并单独检测。该仪器将同时测量荧光和和频率，以产生关于单个颗粒（即蛋白质）的局部动力学的信息，以及关于包含颗粒的散装材料的空间相关结构信息。这就产生了关于粒子和块体之间相互作用的信息，而这些信息是任何其他方法都无法获得的。该提案将首先调查测试项目，包括膜结构域结构和膜-膜相互作用的研究，例如，在平面支撑的脂质双层内脂质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导致从表面化学和生物物理到纳米技术和细胞生物学等多个领域的重大突破。

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..