An Infra‐Red Microspectrometer for Biological Research

The apparatus herein described consists of a totally reflecting microscope of numerical aperture 0.6 coupled with a Perkin‐Elmer Model 12C infra‐red prism spectrometer. The combination makes possible the recording of infra‐red spectra of individual cells of biological materials over the familiar range from 1 to 15μ, and has been particularly designed for the study of muscle fibers. The techniques for producing aspheric optics used in the microscope are discussed. Some preliminary performance data are given.