Vibrationally resonant imaging of a single living cell by supercontinuum-based multiplex coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microspectroscopy

Supercontinuum-based multiplex coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering ( CARS) microspectroscopy has been applied to vibrational imaging of a living fission yeast cell. We have successfully extracted only a vibrationally resonant CARS image from a characteristic spectral profile in the C-H stretching vibrational region. Using our simple but sensitive analysis, the vibrational contrast is significantly improved in comparison with a CARS imaging at a fixed Raman shift. The CARS image of a living yeast cell indicates several areas at which the signal is remarkably strong. They are considered to arise from mitochondria. (C) 2005 Optical Society of America.