FEL microscopy for the investigation of transient local heating in single living cells

A free-electron laser (FEL) microscope has been constructed to perform spatially and spectrally resolved pump/probe experiments in single living cells. Picosecond infrared FEL pulses are absorbed by the sample and rapidly converted to heat. Excitation of localized fluorescent reporter molecules using a UV/VIS probe beam leads to thermally induced alterations in the radiative signal. Fluorescence-detected infrared (FDIR) spectra are generated from regions proximal to reporter molecules by varying the FEL pump wavelength. Sub- wavelength spatial resolution is a composite function of media thermal properties and probe selectivity.

[1]  P I Haris,et al.  Biomembrane structures. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and biomembrane technology. , 1989, Biochemical Society transactions.

[2]  Michael D. Fayer,et al.  Application of a two-color free-electron laser to condensed-matter molecular dynamics , 1989 .

[3]  R. L. Swent,et al.  Facilities at the Stanford Picosecond FEL Center , 1993, Photonics West - Lasers and Applications in Science and Engineering.

[4]  M W Berns,et al.  Free electron laser irradiation at 200 microns affects DNA synthesis in living cells. , 1990, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[5]  M Daudon,et al.  Investigation of urinary crystals by Fourier transform infrared microscopy. , 1991, Clinical chemistry.

[6]  W. C. Krueger,et al.  Protein secondary structure from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy: a data base analysis. , 1991, Analytical biochemistry.

[7]  M W Berns,et al.  Laser microbeam as a tool in cell biology. , 1991, International review of cytology.

[8]  J H Crowe,et al.  Lipid phase transitions measured in intact cells with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. , 1989, Cryobiology.

[9]  T J O'Leary,et al.  Fourier transform infrared microscopic identification of foreign materials in tissue sections. , 1992, Laboratory investigation; a journal of technical methods and pathology.