An Infra-Red Microspectrometer for Biological Research

Abstract

The apparatus herein described consists of a totally reflecting microscope of numerical aperture 0.6 coupled with a Perkin-Elmer Model 12C infra-red prism spectrometer. The combination makes possible the recording of infra-red spectra of individual cells of biological materials over the familiar range from 1 to 15μ, and has been particularly designed for the study of muscle fibers. The techniques for producing aspheric optics used in the microscope are discussed. Some preliminary performance data are given.