Vibrational Spectroscopic Microscopy: Raman, Near-Infrared and Mid-Infrared Imaging Techniques

New instrumental approaches for performing vibrational Raman, near-infrared and mid-infrared spectroscopic imaging microscopy are described. The instruments integrate imaging quality filters such as acousto-optic tunable filters (AOTFs), with visible charge-coupled device (CCD) and infrared focal-plane array detectors. These systems are used in conjunction with infinity-corrected, refractive microscopes for operation in the visible and near-infrared spectral regions and with Cassegrainian reflective optics for operation in the mid-infrared spectral interval. Chemically specific images at moderate spectral resolution (2 nm) and high spatial resolution (1 μm) can be collected rapidly and noninvasively. Image data are presented containing 128 × 128 pixels, although significantly larger format images can be collected in approximately the same time. The instruments can be readily configured for both absorption and reflectance spectroscopies. We present Raman emission images of polystyrene microspheres and a lipid/amino acid mixture and near-infrared images of onion epidermis and a hydrated phospholipid dispersion. Images generated from mid-infrared spectral data are presented for a KBr disk containing nonhomogeneous domains of lipid and for 50-μm slices of monkey cerebellum. These are the first results illustrating the use of infrared focal-plane array detectors as chemically specific spectroscopic imaging devices and demonstrating their application in biomolecular areas. Extensions and future applications of the various vibrational spectroscopic imaging techniques are discussed.