# Acquisition of a confocal Raman microscope for molecular fingerprinting of cells and tissue

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT FAYETTEVILLE · 2022 · $200,502

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The Arkansas Integrative Metabolic Research Center (AIMRC) is a Phase I COBRE at the University of Arkansas
at Fayetteville (04/01/2021-02/28/2026; PI: Dr. Kyle P. Quinn). The scientific theme of the AIMRC is to
understand the role of cell and tissue metabolism in disease, development, and repair through research involving
advanced imaging, bioenergetics, and data science. The long-term goal of the AIMRC is to establish a
sustainable interdisciplinary research center that can support biomedical research at the U of A and grow the
emerging strength in metabolic research on campus. The Imaging and Spectroscopy Core will enable label-free
non-destructive imaging of cellular redox status and oxygen saturation in live cells, tissues, and organisms
through an assortment of microscopy and spectroscopy techniques. In addition to our existing capabilities, we
propose to install a confocal Raman microscope for non-destructive and label-free imaging of the molecular
composition of cells, tissues, and tissue sections. Raman scattering offers the ability to probe biomolecular
changes and visualize the complex molecular heterogeneity directly from cells and tissues. The technique relies
on the inelastic scattering of light, arising from its interactions with the biological specimen, to quantify the unique
vibrational modes of molecules within its native context. Since every molecular species has a unique Raman
scattering spectrum or “fingerprint”, analyses of cells and tissues using the Raman microscope can provide highly
complementary information to the quantitative metabolic imaging by two-photon microscopy. The Raman
microscope purchased as part of this supplement request will be highly beneficial for the projects proposed by
current research project leaders and pilot project awardees who may be candidates for future advancement to
research project leaders.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10582119
- **Project number:** 3P20GM139768-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT FAYETTEVILLE
- **Principal Investigator:** Kyle Patrick Quinn
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $200,502
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-04-01 → 2026-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10582119

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10582119, Acquisition of a confocal Raman microscope for molecular fingerprinting of cells and tissue (3P20GM139768-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-02 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10582119. Licensed CC0.

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