Microspectrophotometry

Abstract

Microspectrophotometers, manual and recording, have been constructed with cadmium selenide (CdSe) photoconductive cells and are in use in our laboratory as a spectroscopic tool in the study of the pigment chemistry of photoreceptors in living cells. The basic design and operation of these microspectrophotometers for obtaining absorption spectra are described. The absorption spectrum from the ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared can be obtained in a single sweep for specimen areas as small as 2 μ². Examples of absorption spectra of the chloroplast of plant cells, the retinal rods of the visual cells of the eye, and the red blood cell are illustrated. The applications of microspectrophotometry to a variety of biological, biochemical, and chemical problems are indicated.