Hardware and Software available at the Beamline
- Microscopy Cluster (Unlicensed)
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Hardware
We have a number of liquid cells available. Please contact a Beamline Scientist if you are considering a liquid cell for your experiment.
NOTE: The PC2 laboratory is available for loading of the liquid cells as required for certain biological samples.
Liquid Flow-Through Cell
A Bioptechs flow cell designed for light microscopy has been adapted for FTIR microspectroscopy. The cell uses 40 mm windows, with a 2 mm thick drilled bottom window and a 1 mm thick standard top window. We currently have CaF2 available with ZnS windows ordered and awaiting delivery. The design uses a peristaltic pump to flow a film of media around live biological cells. Their response to changes in this media can then be measured in almost real time. Please contact a Beamline Scientist if you wish to use this sample holder. For more details on the cell itself, please see the Bioptechs website.
Figure: Bioptechs liquid flow-through cell
Liquid Compression Cell
A major restriction to studying living systems by infrared is the strong absorbance of water in the mid-IR region which overlays the amide I band (1650 cm-1) of proteins and complex biological materials. This limits measurements to samples with a path length of <10 μm, however a liquid cell designed at the Australian Synchrotron enables the collection of high quality, mid-IR spectra of live cells at these small path lengths. The design utilises a micro-compression cell to sandwich biological cells between two calcium fluoride windows (13 mm in diameter), one of which is printed with a micro-fabricated spacer approximately 6 μm in thickness. The S-channels in the spacer allow excess water to squeeze out from between the plates when a cell suspensions is compressed. The design has approximately a 40-60 minute hold time before the water evaporates completely.
Please contact a Beamline Scientist if you wish to use this sample holder.
Note: This set up is not always available for use.
Figure: [Left] Compression cell (open) with 13 mm CaF2 window. [Right] Fabricated CaF2 spacer (13 mm) with S-channels
Harrick Flow-Through Cell
This is an alternative flow-through cell that uses standard 25 mm windows, allowing a larger range of window material options. Unlike the Bioptechs cell, windows do not need to be drilled. Currently, we have 1 mm thick CaF2 and ZnS windows to fit the cell. See window materials page for transmission curves. A range of spacers are available to provide a pathlength from 6 μm to 950 μm. The working area for various objectives are:
15×: 15 mm × 15 mm (determined with offline instrument)
20×: 10 mm × 10 mm (determined with offline instrument)
36×: 15 mm × 15 mm (determined with synchrotron light)
More information on the cell can be found at the Harrick website.
Figure: Harrick cell shown in assembly order from left to right. The pathlength spacers are cut into semi-circles to provide the liquid flow channel, allowing for standard IR windows to be used in the setup.
Figure: [Left] Disassembled ATR flow-through cell with 5 mm ROC Ge crystal shown. [Centre] Ge ATR crystal in position in the flow-through cell (without the lid). [Right] ATR flow-through in position in the microscope using the Bruker 20× objective.