Application of μ-FTIR-SR Spectroscopy to Prostate Tissue Analysis

The infrared spectromicroscopy is a quite recent technique rapidly developing thanks to the availability of new instruments and new brilliant synchrotron radiation sources in different areas and in particular to biomedical researches. In order to achieve a diffraction limited spatial resolution in tissue samples, we performed experiments at SINBAD, the synchrotron infrared beamline of the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati. We characterized the chemical composition of prostate tissue samples taken from patients affected by prostate cancer disease. Different sizes of the pinholes were considered for the measurements. In the case of prostate tissue sections the results show the possibility to determine the intensity ratio of the $CH_2$ and $CH_3$ bands set at 2930 $cm^{-1}$ and 2960 $cm^{-1}$, respectively. Experiments were also performed with a pinhole of 5 μm of diameter and the differences in both histological and chemical compositions of such samples were determined.