A Quantum Cascade Laser Microscope for Time-resolved Study of Membrane Proteins
- Resource Type
- Conference
- Authors
- Ortolani, Michele; Temperini, Maria Eleonora; Polito, Raffaella; Intze, Antonia; Ciano, Chiara; Gillibert, Raymond; Baldassarre, Leonetta; Giliberti, Valeria
- Source
- 2022 47th International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter and Terahertz Waves (IRMMW-THz) Infrared, Millimeter and Terahertz Waves (IRMMW-THz),2022 47th International Conference on. :1-2 Aug, 2022
- Subject
- Aerospace
Bioengineering
Communication, Networking and Broadcast Technologies
Components, Circuits, Devices and Systems
Engineered Materials, Dielectrics and Plasmas
Fields, Waves and Electromagnetics
Photonics and Electrooptics
Signal Processing and Analysis
Proteins
II-VI semiconductor materials
Microscopy
Wavelength measurement
Measurement by laser beam
Lighting
Detectors
- Language
- ISSN
- 2162-2035
We have developed a confocal laser microscope operating in the wavelength range between 5.8 and 6.3 $\mu$m with a parallel confocal visible-light illumination channel for the study of light-sensitive membrane proteins. The measured diffraction-limited lateral resolution is 19 $\mu$m. Differences in the amide-I and II bands of proteins of the order of $10^{-5}$ can be detected with 30 ms time resolution using cryogen-free HgCdTe detectors and lock-in amplification at the QCL repetition rate. The microscope is suitable to study rhodopsins with a slow photocycle of several seconds.