Laser scanning Raman microscopy for observation of living biological cells
Abstract
A Raman microscope has been used as a powerful tool for analytical imaging of living biological samples. Since Raman images provide information of materials consisting in the sample without any labeling technique, the microscope allows us to observe biological specimens in a desirable condition. In this report, we present a slit scanning confocal Raman microscope for observation of living cells. We used a Nd:YVO4 laser (wavelength 532 nm) as a light source of the microscope. The light from the laser was expanded to x-direction and used for line-shaped illumination on a sample by using an objective lens (NA1.2, x60, water immersion). Raman scattering from the sample was imaged on a slit of a spectrometer and detected by a cooled ICCD camera as a x-λ image.
