An atomic force microscope coupled with a tunable infrared laser source (AFM-IR) was used to measure the size and map the distribution of oil inclusions inside of microorganism without staining or other special sample preparation. The microorganism under study is Streptomyces, a soil bacterium that possesses the capability, under some specific nutritional conditions, to store its carbon source into TriAcylGlycerols, a potential direct source of biodiesel.
Keywords: infrared nanospectroscopy; soil filamentous bacteria; third-generation bio-oil.