Stimulated Raman photothermal microscopy toward ultrasensitive chemical imaging.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 37889965.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.adi2181 and PMC identifier 10610916.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy has shown enormous potential in revealing molecular structures, dynamics, and couplings in complex systems. However, the sensitivity of SRS is fundamentally limited to the millimolar level due to shot noise and the small modulation depth. To overcome this barrier, we revisit SRS from the perspective of energy deposition. The SRS process pumps molecules to their vibrationally excited states. The subsequent relaxation heats up the surroundings and induces refractive index changes. By probing the refractive index changes with a laser beam, we introduce stimulated Raman photothermal (SRP) microscopy, where a >500-fold boost of modulation depth is achieved. The versatile applications of SRP microscopy on viral particles, cells, and tissues are demonstrated. SRP microscopy opens a way to perform vibrational spectroscopic imaging with ultrahigh sensitivity.