HIGHLY RESOLVED CHEMICAL IMAGING OF LIVING CELLS BY USING SYNCHROTRONINFRARED MICROSPECTROMETRY

Using synchrotron radiation as an ultrabright infrared source, we have been able to map the distributions of functional groups such as prote ins, lipids, and nucleic acids inside a single living cell with a spat ial resolution of a few microns. In particular, we have mapped the cha nges in the lipid and protein distributions in both the final stages o f cell division and also during necrosis.