  Optical microscopy has a diffraction limited resolution of about 250 nm.
Fluorescence methods (e.g. PALM, STORM, STED) beat this, but they are still
limited to 10 s of nm, and the images are an indirect pointillist
representation of only part of the original object. Here we describe a way of
combining a sample preparation technique taken from histopathology, with a
probe-based nano-imaging technique, (s SNOM) from the world of Solid State
Physics. This allows us to image subcellular structures optically, and at a
nanoscale resolution that is about 100 x better than normal microscopes. By
adding a tuneable laser source, we also demonstrate mid-infrared chemical
nano-imaging (MICHNI) in human myeloma cells and we use it to map the binding
sites of the anti cancer drug bortezomib to less than 10 zL sized intracellular
components. MICHNI is label free and can be used with any biological material
and drugs with specific functional chemistry. We believe that its combination
of speed, cheapness, simplicity, safety and chemical contrast promises a
transformative impact across the life sciences.
