Search

A generally applicable methodology for routine, noninvasive chemical image characterization of materials is described. The methodology is based on Raman imaging microscopy employing a solid-state acoustooptic electronically tunable imaging spectrometer integrated within a laser-excited optical microscope. Multichannel charge-coupled device detection is employed to capture the Raman images. Chemical imaging with electronically tunable filters can be performed automatically under computer control, making analysis of unknowns routine. The Raman chemical imaging system is applied to the visualization of polypropylene/polyurethane blends. Raman chemical imaging is complementary to electron microscopy for polymer blend characterization ; however, Raman imaging does not require as extensive sample preparation. Raman imaging provides images having molecular specificity at the spatial resolution of the optical microscope, without the use of dyes or stains. Chemical image contrast is provided by the intrinsic vibrational signature of the polymer constituents in the blend.

A powerful new mid-infrared spectroscopic chemical imaging technique combining step-scan Fourier transform Michelson interferometry with indium antimonide focal-plane array (FPA) image detection is described. The coupling of an infrared focal-plane array detector to an interferometer provides an instrumental multiplex/multichannel advantage. Specifically, the multiple detector elements enable spectra at all pixels to be collected simultaneously, while the interferometer portion of the system allows all the spectral frequencies to be measured concurrently. With this method of mid-infrared spectroscopic imaging, the fidelity of the generated spectral images is limited only by the number of pixels on the FPA detector, and only several seconds of starting time is required for spectral image acquisition. This novel, high-definition technique represents the future of infrared chemical imaging analysis, a new discipline within the chemical and material sciences, which combines the capability of spectroscopy for molecular analysis with the power of visualization. In particular, chemical imaging is broadly applicable for noninvasive, molecular characterization of heterogeneous materials, since all solid-state materials exhibit chemical nonuniformity that exists either by design or by development during the course of material preparation or fabrication. Imaging, employing Raman and infrared spectroscopy, allows the precise characterization of the chemical composition, domain structure, and chemical architecture of a variety of substances. This information is often crucial to a wide range of activities, extending from the fabrication of new materials to a basic understanding of biological samples. In this study, step-scan imaging principles, instrument design details, and infrared chemical imaging results are presented. Since the prospect of performing high-resolution and high-definition mid-infrared chemical imaging very rapidly has been achieved with the step-scan approach, the implications for the chemical analysis of materials are many and varied.

An optical detection method, Raman chemical imaging spectroscopy (RCIS), is reported, which combines Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and digital imaging. Using this method, trace levels of biothreat organisms are detected in the presence of complex environmental backgrounds without the use of amplification or enhancement techniques. RCIS is reliant upon the use of Raman signatures and automated recognition algorithms to perform species-level identification. The rationale and steps for constructing a pathogen Raman signature library are described, as well as the first reported Raman spectra from live, priority pathogens, including Bacillus anthracis, Yersinia pestis, Burkholderia mallei, Francisella tularensis, Brucella abortus, and ricin. Results from a government-managed blind trial evaluation of the signature library demonstrated excellent specificity under controlled laboratory conditions.

High-definition Raman chemical imaging microscopy is applied to the histopathological characterization of biopsied human breast tissue containing foreign polymer inclusions. The polymer material is found in a patient with a history of silicone implant breast reconstructive surgery. Silicone implants are, on occasion, anchored to the soft tissues of the chest with polyester patches. In the case studied here, the polyester anchors were incorporated into the patient's fibrous tissue surrounding the implant. High-definition Raman chemical imaging provides molecular-specific image contrast in the complex breast tissue matrix without the use of stains or dyes. This is the first example in which Raman spectroscopic imaging microscopy has been applied to pathology. A goal of this and future studies is to complement traditional histopathologic diagnoses of disease states utilizing vibrational spectroscopic imaging techniques.