Subcellular IR Imaging of a Metal–Carbonyl Moiety Using Photothermally Induced Resonance

Some like it hot! The photothermally induced resonance technique, in which an AFM microscope is coupled to a tunable pulsed IR laser, allows IR mapping and gives access to local IR spectra at the subcellular level. A metal–carbonyl compound was internalized in cells and detected in the cell nucleus thanks to its IR signature. The local IR spectrum at the nucleus showed the characteristic IR bands of the {Re(CO)3} unit.