Fourier transform raman micro-spectroscopy with IR excitation : a unique system to characterize bio-inorganic materials and interfaces

我们建议购买一台1064 nm激光激发的FT-拉曼光谱仪，与Cerruti实验室的拉曼显微镜相结合。这种组合系统在加拿大任何地方都不存在，对于分析在可见光辐射激发下发出荧光的样品是必不可少的。拉曼显微镜通常是用可见光或紫外光激光进行的。然而，可见光范围内的激光经常激发荧光辐射，这在生物和有机金属样品中可能是压倒性的。为了避免这一问题，同时仍具有足够大的信噪比，发展了红外激光激发的傅里叶变换拉曼光谱。红外激光不会在样品中产生荧光；从样品中收集的辐射在击中探测器之前通过干涉仪，因此可以在不到一秒的时间内收集整个光谱。通过积累数百个光谱，大大提高了信噪比。在这里，我们建议购买一台具有1064 nm激光的FT-拉曼光谱仪，我们将把它连接到Cerruti实验室现有的拉曼显微镜上。这种组合将使我们能够使用1064 nm激光以~1微米的空间分辨率收集FT-拉曼光谱，而不是使用FT-拉曼光谱仪中设置的显微镜平台获得~50微米的分辨率。这种组合非常罕见，加拿大也不存在其他类似的系统。它是分析生物-无机材料和界面的重要工具，该系统将支持至少七名来自麦吉尔矿业与材料、化学、机械、生物工程和化学的研究人员以及至少46名他们的学员的项目。我们预计，一旦安装该系统，将吸引更多的用户，例如，在麦吉尔先进材料研究所、骨骼和牙周病中心以及生物识别和生物传感器中心的成员中。使用FT-拉曼光谱显微镜，学生将扩展他们在材料表面表征方面的专业知识，特别是在生物材料、生物工程、生物传感、制药、法医和艺术品修复方面的应用。

We propose the purchase of an FT-Raman spectroscope with 1064 nm laser excitation to be combined with a Raman microscope present in Cerruti's lab. This combined system does not exist anywhere in Canada, and is essential for the analysis of samples that fluoresce when excited with visible radiation. Raman microscopy is conventionally performed with visible or UV lasers. However, lasers in the visible range often excite fluorescent radiation, which can be overwhelming in biological and organometallic samples. To avoid this problem and still have a large enough signal/noise ratio, Fourier Transform Raman spectroscopy with IR laser excitation was developed. The IR laser does not generate fluorescence in the samples; the radiation collected from the sample goes through an interferometer before hitting the detector, thus allowing the collection of a whole spectrum in less than a second. By accumulating hundreds of spectra the signal/noise ratio is dramatically increased. Here we propose to buy an FT-Raman spectrometer with a laser at 1064 nm, which we will connect to a Raman microscope already present in Cerruti's lab. This combination will allow us to collect FT-Raman spectra using the 1064 nm laser with a spatial resolution of ~1 micron, as opposed to the resolution of ~50 micron obtained with a microscope stage set in the FT-Raman spectrometer. This combination is extremely rare, and no other systems like this exist in Canada. It is a crucial tool to analyze bio-inorganic materials and interfaces, and this system will support the programs of at least seven researchers from Mining and Materials, Chemical, Mechanical, Bio-Engineering, and Chemistry at McGill and at least 46 of their trainees. We expect many more users will be attracted once the system is installed, for example among members of the McGill Institute for Advanced Materials, the Center for Bone and Periodontal Disease, and the Center for Biorecognition and Biosensors. Working with FT-Raman spectro-microscopy, the students will extend their expertise in materials surface characterization, especially for applications in biomaterials, bioengineering, biosensing, pharmaceutics, forensic, and art restoration.