By Cnr Ifn
Raman spectroscopy and Raman imaging studies are carried out using a home-built setup equipped with a laser centered at 660nm (Cobolt, 300 mW) entering into the back port of an inverted microscope (Olympus IX73) coupled with motorised stage (x, y) and focus (z). Raman photons enter into a Isoplane 160 spectrometer (Princeton Intruments) equipped with two gratings (600 and 1200 l/mm) and Raman signals are detected by a front illuminated CCD (Pixis 256). The main research activities are focused on the study of tissue, cells and biofluids from patients and animal models, without excluding specific characterisation of other type of samples (materials, food, microplastics). The main research topics are the study of bone diseases, senescence processes and leukemia. In 2022, thanks to the collaboration with Giuseppe Antonacci (CEO and co-founder of Specto Photonics) the Raman microscope has been coupled with a compact and innovative Brillouin spectrometer thus allowing the simultaneous co-registration of Raman and Brillouin data and images on the same sample, thus allowing to investigate both chemical and mechanical properties of biological (or non-biological) samples. RamApp: In the context of our research we developed a new open-source and web-based tool for the processing of Raman maps, called "RamApp".
