Imaging of soft tissues by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

abstrakt

angličtina

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a micro-destructive method with extensive possibilities of elemental analysis. It is a type of optical emission spectroscopy using a pulsed laser (typically an Nd-YAG). The laser pulse is focused into a tight spot inducing high-intensity irradiation of the material and its ablation; consequently, a luminous micro-plasma is created. The parameters of a laser pulse play a crucial role in the laser-matter interaction and contribute to the complex phenomenon of plasma formation and its thermodynamic properties. Optimizing the analytical methodology is a necessary and crucial step, especially in the case of high-throughput elemental imaging of biological tissues, such as soft tissues. In this study, we built on our recent work [1] where the challenging LIBS analysis of soft tissue, namely murine kidneys, analysis was addressed. The article brings thorough optimization of the experimental setup to reach the best possible performance in the trade-off between sensitivity and lateral resolution. We extend already published results when comparing the ablation by using various laser wavelengths. Coupling of laser pulse into the investigated material is strongly dependent on its wavelength, which is demonstrated in our results. Moreover, we aim to compare different types of sample preparation of soft tissues because that is an extremely important step before the actual analysis. Soft tissue sections are commonly fixed in paraffin, but we study and optimize the sample preparation in epoxy resin or freezed cryo-sections.

Soft tissues, bioimaging, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

KOPŘIVOVÁ, H.; POŘÍZKA, P.; MODLITBOVÁ, P.; PROCHAZKA, D.; VRLÍKOVÁ, L.; BUCHTOVÁ, M.; KAISER, J.

29. 11. 2021