Santa Barbara, California – Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp announces the new mIRage^®-LS sub-500nm IR multimodal microscope and spectroscopy system uniquely combining, simultaneous Raman and co-located Fluorescence Microscopy with sub-micron IR in a single platform. Additionally, new developments on their proprietary O-PTIR (Optical photothermal IR Spectroscopy) technique have pushed the IR spatial resolution to sub 500nm and beyond for life science related applications.

This new integrated platform uniquely combines the benefits of fluorescence microscopy to support fast, easy targeting of molecular features of interest with sub-micron IR spectroscopy to characterize the molecular structure of bio-molecular features, including sub-cellular and tissue applications.

“I am very excited about the potential of the mirage LS, combining (O-PTIR) with co-located Fluorescence microscopy for the same sample region. It combines the exquisite sensitivity of fluorescence microscopy with the powerful molecular structural capabilities of infrared spectroscopy at a sub 500nm spatial resolution” stated Professor Kenneth Kosik, USCB Harriman Professor of Neuroscience and co-director of the Neuroscience research institute.
“This combination of sub 500nm IR with collocated fluorescence will enable us to obtain valuable insight towards several high value questions concerning protein folding and aggregation that interest my group”.

“The new mIRage-LS builds on our O-PTIR measurement technique providing wavelength independent, true sub-micron spatial resolution for both spectroscopy and imaging and combined sub-micron Raman and IR spectroscopy.” stated Dr Mustafa Kansiz, Director of Product Management, Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp.

“The mirage LS also provide significant improvements in IR spatial resolution enabling us to target ever smaller bio-molecular features providing a breakthrough in IR characterization for a wide range of life science applications.”

Further information relating to the mIRage-LS can be found here:
Co-located fluorescence OPTIR – Optical photothermal infrared and Raman spectroscopy with the mIRage

About Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp

Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp (PSC), the sub-micron spectroscopy company, has pioneered the breakthrough technique of optical Photothermal Infrared (O-PTIR) technology that eliminates key limitations of traditional IR Spectroscopy providing submicron spatial resolution for IR and transmission-like FTIR quality spectra in non-contact reflection mode. More recently, PSC has developed the world’s first simultaneous Infrared and Raman microscope and imaging system, providing IR and Raman data from the exact same spot, at the same time, with the same submicron spatial resolution. PSC’s vision is to enable the power of IR spectroscopy to be applied to high value problems in industry and academia via the adoption of O-PTIR.

About mIRage^®-LS

The mIRage-LS IR multimodal microscope integrates the combined technologies of Raman and Fluorescence microscopy with sub-micron IR spatial resolution imaging and spectroscopy using Optical Photothermal IR (O-PTIR) spectroscopy. These combined techniques will enable life science researchers to easily identify bio-molecular structures of interest and characterize their chemical structure with submicron IR.

Fluorescence microscopy, with its powerful molecular specificity has been a life science research workhorse technique for decades. Vibrational spectroscopy (IR & Raman) are well established techniques, providing broad macromolecular, spatially resolved characterization abilities for life science-based applications.

With the recent advent of O-PTIR, with its submicron and simultaneous Raman capabilities, this broad macromolecular characterization can now be performed on biologically relevant spatial scales, <500nm, allowing uniquely for IR spectroscopy, sub-cellular resolution, which is matched with Raman and fluorescence imaging resolution.

Now, for the first time, a fully integrated and sample registration free combination of these techniques into a single platform heralds a breakthrough for life science research, allowing researchers to truly exploit these two techniques with powerful synergy, to access additional information and insights not available with either technique on its own.

Media Contact: Molly Morrison, Marketing Manager Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp T: +1 (805) 845-6568 x525 photothermal.ndic.com

Santa Barbara, Calif. – November 5, 2019 – The 2019 Ellis R. Lippincott Award was presented to co-inventor of the Optical Photothermal IR (O-PTIR) technique that is the basis for the operation of the mIRage IR microscope. The award is given for “outstanding contributions in inventing and developing a broad spectrum of vibrational spectroscopic imaging technologies with groundbreaking discoveries and clinical applications.” Presentation of the 2019 award was at SciX 2019 in Palm Springs, California.

Ji-Xin Cheng attended the University of Science and Technology of China from 1989 to 1994 and pursued a PhD study on bond-selective chemistry from 1994 to 1998. In 2000 he joined the Sunney Xie’s group at Harvard University as a postdoc. Cheng subsequently joined Purdue University in 2003 as Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2009 and Full Professor in 2013. He joined Boston University as the Inaugural Moustakas Chair Professor in Photonics and Optoelectronics in 2017.

Ji-Xin Cheng has devoted his career to transforming molecular spectroscopy from an in vitro analytical tool to a set of in vivo label-free chemical imaging platforms for the discovery of hidden signatures inside living systems and further translation of the discoveries into medical diagnosis and treatment strategies.

About Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp

Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp (PSC) is a spin-off from Anasys Instruments Corp, the company that pioneered the field of AFM-based photothermal IR spectroscopy (PTIR) and was eventually acquired by Bruker Nano. PSC now has a breakthrough optical PTIR (O-PTIR) technology that eliminates key limitations of traditional IR Spectroscopy: spatial resolution and sample preparation. O-PTIR provides sub-micron spatial resolution for IR and provides transmission-like FTIR quality spectra in non-contact reflection mode. O-PTIR provides all the benefits of ATR without contact-related limitations, and also provides Raman-like spatial resolution, but with IR sensitivity. PSC’s vision is to enable the power of IR spectroscopy to be applied to high value problems in industry and academia via the adoption of O-PTIR.

About mIRage®

The mIRage IR microscope provides true sub-micron IR spatial resolution imaging and spectroscopy using Optical Photothermal IR (O-PTIR) spectroscopy, a proprietary technique. mIRage provides wavelength independent spatial resolution, highly sensitive IR measurements and transmission quality absorption spectra in refection mode. mIRage bridges the gap between conventional IR microspectroscopy and AFM-based nanoscale IR spectroscopy.

Media Contact: Molly Morrison, Marketing Manager Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp T: +1 (805) 845-6568 x525 photothermal.ndic.com

The lab will serve as the flagship office for research and sales in the Asia Pacific region. It will be managed by Dr. Mike Lo, the regional Applications and Business Development Manager.

“We are entering an exciting stage of growth, and this office is a great introduction for O-PTIR in the APAC region,” said Roshan Shetty, CEO. “We are looking forward to having Mike direct this lab, and adding more global applications offices to further our expansion”

“Tegent is excited to announce our investment in providing a distinguished IR Spectroscopy system to our valuable customers in China, Hong Kong and Macau,” stated Hawk Zhu, CEO of Tegent. “Our customers will personally feel the ease of use of mIRage and its groundbreaking sensitivity, resolution and high quality. We are looking forward to welcoming challenging samples, so that our customers will have a totally different expectation of IR from their experience with Mirage.”

Since its establishment in April 2018, Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp has seen widespread excitement and acceptance of O-PTIR. The technique solves two of the biggest problems in IR spectroscopy: submicron spatial resolution down to 500nm without contact limitations of ATR, and spectra on thick samples in non-contact mode that correlate to Transmission FTIR.

“This opportunity will bring immense value to customers as we are entering into a true submicron IR spectroscopy world,” said Zhu. “With the existing FTIR and ATR microscopes on the market today, there are many complexities in providing significantly enhanced resolution without the need for ultra-thin samples, or sample contact found in ATR. mIRage will resolve many of those issues and simultaneously provide our customers with local access to the next level of instrumentation for academic and industrial markets.”

To schedule a demonstration of mIRage, contact Jacky Yau at jacky@tegent.com.hk.

About Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp

Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp (PSC) is a spin-off from Anasys Instruments Corp, the company that pioneered the field of AFM-based photothermal IR spectroscopy (PTIR) and was eventually acquired by Bruker Nano. PSC now has a breakthrough optical PTIR (O-PTIR) technology that eliminates two fundamental problems with IR Spectroscopy: spatial resolution limitations, and sample preparation. O-PTIR provides sub-micron spatial resolution for IR and provides transmission FTIR quality spectra in non-contact reflection mode. O-PTIR provides all the benefits of ATR without contact-related limitations, and also provides Raman-like spatial resolution, but with IR sensitivity. PSC’s vision is to enable the power of IR spectroscopy to be applied to high value problems in industry and academia via the adoption of O-PTIR.

About mIRage®

The mIRage IR microscope provides true sub-micron IR spatial resolution imaging and spectroscopy using Optical Photothermal IR (O-PTIR) spectroscopy, a proprietary technique. mIRage provides wavelength independent spatial resolution, highly sensitive IR measurements and transmission quality absorption spectra in refection mode. mIRage bridges the gap between conventional IR microspectroscopy and AFM-based nanoscale IR spectroscopy.

mIRage achieves sub-micron spatial resolution IR imaging and spectroscopy, with a spatial resolution improvement of over 20X. mIRage works on the principle of Optical Photothermal IR (O-PTIR) spectroscopy providing transmission quality FTIR spectra, even in reflection mode.

Using O-PTIR eliminates another longstanding limitation for IR microscopy, namely the inability to work on thick samples. mIRage allows IR spectroscopy of surfaces without the contact limitations of ATR, thus expanding IR to many new applications. mIRage obtains IR spectroscopy of surfaces on thick samples in a non-contact method. It enables faster time to data, and cost of ownership improvements while providing correlation to industry standard FTIR databases.

mIRage overcomes the IR diffraction limit by combining a pulsed tunable laser with a proprietary optical technique measuring photothermal response of the sample in a fast, easy to use manner. mIRage relies on the decade of expertise in photothermal physics that Anasys Instruments, the company that preceded Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp, and its collaborators have built up since starting the research on their AFM based nanoscale IR spectroscopy platform.

Dr. Curt Marcott, former Research Fellow at P&G and one of the world-renowned experts in IR Spectroscopy, stated that “Having been personally involved with some of the major advances in IR over the last 40 years, I believe that photothermal IR spectroscopy via the Mirage product might very well be the biggest advance in the field of IR that I’ve seen in my lifetime. I believe that this will substantially expand the scope of problems that can be addressed by IR spectroscopy “.

Dr. Craig Prater, CTO of Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp, who led the technology development effort for the Mirage product, said: “Our new proprietary measurement technique provides wavelength independent, true sub-micron spatial resolution for both spectroscopy and imaging. Mirage also uniquely provides transmission FTIR quality spectra in reflection, benefitting users by enabling measurement on thick samples, minimizing sample preparation and improving turnaround times.”

About Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp

Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp (PSC) is a spin-off from Anasys Instruments Corp, the company that pioneered the field of AFM-based photothermal IR spectroscopy (PTIR) and was eventually acquired by Bruker Nano. PSC now has a breakthrough optical PTIR (O-PTIR) technology that eliminates two fundamental problems with IR Spectroscopy: spatial resolution limitations, and sample preparation. O-PTIR provides sub-micron spatial resolution for IR and provides transmission FTIR quality spectra in non-contact reflection mode. O-PTIR provides all the benefits of ATR without contact-related limitations, and also provides Raman-like spatial resolution, but with IR sensitivity. PSC’s vision is to enable the power of IR spectroscopy to be applied to high value problems in industry and academia via the adoption of O-PTIR.

About mIRage®

The mIRage IR microscope provides true sub-micron IR spatial resolution imaging and spectroscopy using Optical Photothermal IR (O-PTIR) spectroscopy, a proprietary technique. mIRage provides wavelength independent spatial resolution, highly sensitive IR measurements and transmission quality absorption spectra in refection mode. mIRage bridges the gap between conventional IR microspectroscopy and AFM-based nanoscale IR spectroscopy.