Synthetic fibers are emerging as an important problem in aquatic pollution. To examine the presence, activity, and fate of these pollutants, a technique is needed that has spatial and temporal chemical specificity. The wealth of information contained in the mid-IR region of the electromagnetic spectrum is staggering. This is the location of the “fingerprint” region, well-known to contain characteristic vibrational signatures for a wide variety of compounds. In addition, IR spectroscopy also yields quantitative information. IR microscopy, therefore, reveals what substances are in the sample, how much is present, and where they are located. Performing this microscopy in a wide-field configuration, where the entire image is acquired at one time, adds temporal specificity. Using structured illumination, the resolution of the instrument (always a concern in the infrared) can be increased by up to a factor of two. There are three different operational modalities in which such an instrument will be developed and brought to bear on the problem of plastic fiber contamination. Hyperspectral imaging, the first mode, gives a spectrum at each pixel of the image. It thus combines chemical and spatial information. The second mode is time-course imaging, where the wavelength is fixed at a specific value and monitored over time. This mode would be used for kinetics studies examining leaching from or reactions with the fibers. Super-resolution imaging would be the third mode, giving increased spatial information.

Wide-field super-resolution infrared microscopy for aquatic pollutant examination

254th National Meeting (2017)

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