• Open Access

High-Performance Versatile Setup for Simultaneous Brillouin-Raman Microspectroscopy

F. Scarponi, S. Mattana, S. Corezzi, S. Caponi, L. Comez, P. Sassi, A. Morresi, M. Paolantoni, L. Urbanelli, C. Emiliani, L. Roscini, L. Corte, G. Cardinali, F. Palombo, J. R. Sandercock, and D. Fioretto
Phys. Rev. X 7, 031015 – Published 21 July 2017

Abstract

Brillouin and Raman scattering spectroscopy are established techniques for the nondestructive contactless and label-free readout of mechanical, chemical, and structural properties of condensed matter. Brillouin-Raman investigations currently require separate measurements and a site-matched approach to obtain complementary information from a sample. Here, we demonstrate a new concept of fully scanning multimodal microspectroscopy for simultaneous detection of Brillouin and Raman light scattering in an exceptionally wide spectral range, from fractions of GHz to hundreds of THz. It yields an unprecedented 150-dB contrast, which is especially important for the analysis of opaque or turbid media such as biomedical samples, and spatial resolution on a subcellular scale. We report the first applications of this new multimodal method to a range of systems, from a single cell to the fast reaction kinetics of a curing process, and the mechanochemical mapping of highly scattering biological samples.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 21 February 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.7.031015

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Atomic, Molecular & OpticalInterdisciplinary PhysicsPolymers & Soft MatterCondensed Matter, Materials & Applied PhysicsPhysics of Living Systems

Authors & Affiliations

F. Scarponi1, S. Mattana2, S. Corezzi2,*, S. Caponi3, L. Comez3, P. Sassi4, A. Morresi4, M. Paolantoni4, L. Urbanelli5, C. Emiliani5, L. Roscini6, L. Corte6, G. Cardinali6, F. Palombo7, J. R. Sandercock1, and D. Fioretto2,†

  • 1Tablestable Ltd., Im Grindel 6, CH-8932 Mettmenstetten, Switzerland
  • 2Dipartimento di Fisica e Geologia, Università di Perugia, Via Pascoli, I-06123 Perugia, Italy
  • 3IOM-CNR, c/o Dipartimento di Fisica e Geologia, Università di Perugia, Via Pascoli, I-06123 Perugia, Italy
  • 4Dipartimento di Chimica, Biologia e Biotecnologie, Università di Perugia, Via Elce di Sotto 8, I-06123 Perugia, Italy
  • 5Dipartimento di Chimica, Biologia e Biotecnologie, Università di Perugia, Via del Giochetto, I-06123 Perugia, Italy
  • 6Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences-Microbiology, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy
  • 7University of Exeter, School of Physics and Astronomy, Exeter EX4 4QL, United Kingdom

  • *Corresponding author. silvia.corezzi@unipg.it
  • Corresponding author. daniele.fioretto@unipg.it

Popular Summary

To study the molecular structure and dynamics of matter, researchers often target a focused beam of light on a sample and carefully analyze how that light scatters. Two techniques in particular, known as Raman and Brillouin spectroscopy, are the preferred choices for revealing chemical and mechanical information without disturbing the sample. Raman identifies local molecular vibrations while Brillouin reveals acoustic phonons (mechanical vibrations that propagate). When dealing with soft matter, and biological materials in particular, physicists often deal with samples that are heterogeneous and sometimes opaque, making it difficult to construct high-resolution maps. We present the design and test for a new instrument concept for simultaneous Brillouin and Raman microspectroscopy that operates in an exceptionally wide spectral range, with the high contrast and high resolution required for a variety of applications unapproachable by ordinary devices.

Our setup combines a Raman spectrometer with a multipass Fabry-Pérot interferometer. We demonstrate its performance with three case studies. First, we create in situ chemical and structural maps of biofilms, with the potential of revealing “persister cells,” which are among the major causes of hospital infections. Second, we monitor with subsecond time resolution mechanical and chemical changes in reacting materials. And third, we report the broadband detection of collective dynamics of biological matter, from fractions of gigahertz to hundreds of terahertz, with subcellular spatial resolution.

We expect that our device will move the frontiers of joint Brillouin-Raman spectroscopy forward by enabling applications in nontransparent media from photonic materials to biomedical samples.

Key Image

Article Text

Click to Expand

References

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 7, Iss. 3 — July - September 2017

Subject Areas
Reuse & Permissions
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review X

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

×

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×