Analyze and diagnosis

This technique permits establishment of the cartography of chemical functions.  In the laboratory, the weak flux of sources does not reasonably permit the scanning mode with a resolution lower than 15 μm. Use of the synchrotron source (a thousand times brighter) eliminates this limitation and achieves spatial resolution of 3 μm. IR microspectroscopy may lead to real progress in the detection of tumor cells, the appearance of a tumor being often accompanied by chemical modification.

Cellular autofluorescence is a known phenomenon, often induced by excitation under ultraviolet light, and is used to test cellular integrity.  To better understand the relationship between variations in fluorescence and pathogenic modifications within a cell or tissue, we must have recourse to the imagery of fluorescent excitation and to this, we must use a source of light whose wavelengths are compatible with long-distance ultraviolet light:  the synchrotron source. 
On the other hand, synchrotron UV light can also be used as a beam to ionize the biomolecules in a mixture selectively before their spectroscopic analysis as a mass.  This form of ionization permits the viewing of mass spectrums of hydrophobe proteins in a complex solvent, closer to the physiological conditions than other milieus used in classic types of analysis.

This technique provides the cartography of constituent chemical components with a spatial resolution of 0.2 μm. It is extremely sensitive (down to the ppb) and particularly effective in detecting the presence of exogenous atoms.  This technique is well adapted to the analysis of anatomopathological samples or the monitoring of therapeutic treatments associated with the deposit of specific chemical components. 

This is the classic diffraction of X-rays with a beam of micrometric size.  This provides information about the geometry of molecules and their arrangements.  Fibrous proteins lend themselves well to this type of analysis.  This technique, sensitive to changes in molecular structure related to certain pathologies, is being explored by our British colleagues at the level of the structure of collagen fibers for diagnosing breast cancer.