Multimodal Chemical Imaging Across Scales to Visualize Metabolic Pathways in Live Plants and Microbial Systems
EMSL Project ID
50653
Abstract
We will develop a novel spectral imaging platform (“BioImager”) that may be used to image and identify biomolecules involved in both microbial and plant metabolic processes through different chemical contrasts and across multiple length and time scales. The spectroscopic methods of choice include a combination of Raman and fluorescence scattering, as well as reflected/transmitted light extinction spectroscopy in a single optical setup. As such, our BioImager will enable multimodal chemical mapping through the aforementioned spectroscopic contrasts. The proposed system will provide significant advantages over the currently employed approaches to metabolic mapping, simultaneously achieving:(i) high spectral resolution on the order of 0.1 cm1, which is required for our Raman functionality;
(ii) fast acquisition speeds on the order of milliseconds to track, e.g., microbial motion and nutrient uptake in real time;
(iii) high detection sensitivity to both facilitate high-speed acquisition and empower low-light level registration with adequate signal-to-noise ratios for an overall strictly non-invasive/non-perturbative optical imaging approach; and
(iv) ease of switching between nanoscopic and macroscopic probing volumes.
The technology developed under this effort will be developed and tested using two model systems of relevance to BER’s bioenergy and environmental microbiology research thrusts. Using the first system, we will explore the role of microbial communities in controlling carbon cycling. Through the second system, we strive to advance the existing knowledge of plant metabolic processes influencing cell wall composition, synthesis, function, and deconstruction for dedicated bioenergy biomass crop development.
Project Details
Start Date
2018-12-01
End Date
2021-09-30
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Co-Investigator(s)
Team Members
Related Publications
Apra E., A. Bhattarai, and P.Z. El-Khoury. 2019. "Gauging Molecular Orientation through Time Domain Simulations of Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering." Journal of Physical Chemistry A 123, no. 32:7142-7147. PNNL-SA-145212. doi:10.1021/acs.jpca.9b06182