Review
Chemical imaging of biological tissue with synchrotron infrared light

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Abstract

Fourier transform infrared micro-spectroscopy (FTIRM) and imaging (FTIRI) have become valuable techniques for examining the chemical makeup of biological materials by probing their vibrational motions on a microscopic scale. Synchrotron infrared (S-IR) light is an ideal source for FTIRM and FTIRI due to the combination of its high brightness (i.e., flux density), also called brilliance, and broadband nature. Through a 10-μm pinhole, the brightness of a synchrotron source is 100–1000 times higher than a conventional thermal (globar) source. Accordingly, the improvement in spatial resolution and in spectral quality to the diffraction limit has led to a plethora of applications that is just being realized. In this review, we describe the development of synchrotron-based FTIRM, illustrate its advantages in many applications to biological systems, and propose some potential future directions for the technique.

Abbreviations

IR
infrared
FTIRM
Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy
FTIRI
Fourier transform infrared imaging
FPA
focal plane array
MCT
mercury cadmium telluride
S/N
signal-to-noise
S-IR
synchrotron infrared

Keywords

Synchrotron
Infrared
Microspectroscopy
Imaging
Biology
Biomedical

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