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Microscope Design Uses Resonator to "Store" Light, Avoid Sample Degradation

In photography, taking a detailed image requires a lot of light. But in microscopy, too much light is often harmful to the sample, such as when imaging sensitive biological structures or investigating quantum particles. The aim is therefore to gather as much information as possible about the object under observation with a given amount of light. In collaboration with the University of Vienna and the University of Siegen, researchers at TU Wien have developed a novel trick to achieve this: storing the light in a resonator in which the sample is also located. This allows them to obtain a clearer signal than with other methods. “In a normal microscope, the light hits the sample once and then enters a lens ,” said Maximilian Prüfer, who led the study as part of his fellowship at the Atomic Research Institute of TU Wien. “In our microscope, we place the sample in an optical resonator — between two mirrors.” To turn this resonator into a microscope, the team developed an unusual experimen...
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OLED Contact Lenses Expand Options for Diagnostics and Treatment

A wireless contact lens that integrates OLED technology into ophthalmic diagnostics could transform the way in which ocular health is monitored, benefiting both patients and practitioners. The lens is the result of a collaboration among the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), and the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. To create the wearable light source, the team led by professor Seunghyup Yoo designed a configuration and process flow that integrated an ultrathin OLED , an antenna, and a controller chip for wireless power reception with a contact lens. Using a 433 megahertz (MHz) resonant frequency for power transmission, the researchers implemented a robust wireless power system for the lens. They embedded a wireless microcontroller into a sleep mask to optimize the lens and allow it to be synchronized with a smartphone. The team demonstrated the efficacy of the OLED contact lens as a r...
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Single-Cell Analysis Optofluidics Tool Delivers on Demand

An on-demand optical system for exporting target droplets from a static droplet array (SDA) provides a simple way to export specific cells or analytes for analysis without compromising efficiency or accuracy. Researchers at the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed the system, called optical on-demand droplet release (OODR). The developers and their collaborators believe that OODR could promote SDAs as a valuable tool for use with high-capacity screening assays with applications in diverse fields. They said that the technique in its current stage of development has the potential to be used in single-molecule/cell analysis, drug screening, and phenotype-based cell sorting. The OODR system incorporates a 1064-nm laser-responsive indium tin oxide (ITO) layer into a microchamber, array-based, droplet microfluidic chip. When the laser is focused onto the ITO layer of the chip, local heating causes microbubbles to form. The mic...
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SPAD Camera Characterizes Large Samples of Molecules at Same Time

  A new widefield fluorescence lifetime imaging technique, achieved with a time-gated, single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) camera, enables thousands of molecules to be characterized rapidly, accurately, and at the same time. Developed by a team at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), single-molecule fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (smFLIM) could be a significant advancement for multitarget, single-molecule localization microscopy. Traditional FLIM typically relies on time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC), a precise but low-throughput method, to discriminate molecules or probe their nano scale environment. Unlike conventional imaging methods, smFLIM detects molecules at a specific point in time immediately after they are subjected to an excitation pulse. It captures an alternating series of images — one image immediately after excitation and another a few nanoseconds later — with picosecond-scale resolution. The images are analyzed to d...
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High-Throughput Imaging Reveals Multi-Particle Cellular Activity

  A new software program can map the movements of multiple particles within cells simultaneously, providing insight into cellular functions that are difficult — and sometimes impossible — to investigate using single-cell tracking methods. The software, developed by researchers at the University of Bonn and Wageningen University and Research, speeds the high-throughput process used to observe molecules in cells, enabling fivefold shorter measurement times than single-particle tracking, according to the researchers. In single-particle tracking, the molecule is marked with fluorescent light, and hundreds of photos per second are taken using a high-resolution microscope. By looking at the gaps between molecules and the distances traveled by a single molecule from one photograph to another, the researcher can tell whether the particles are moving freely inside the cell or interacting with other molecules. Biomolecules move faster than cameras can capture, leading to gaps in the film. I...
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Light-Based Approach Reduces Damage to Healthy Tissues in Cancer Treatment

A technique developed at Northeastern University targets two of the deadliest cancer types, melanoma and triple negative breast cancer, with chemotherapy drugs but without the usual associated harms. Both cancers are typically resistant to chemotherapy, said Fleury Augustin Nsole Biteghe, a lecturer in biotechnology, chemistry and chemical biology. But by attaching a light -sensitive drug to a protein called MTf — which appears abundantly in both cancers — and bathing the drug-infused protein in near-infrared light, cancer cells die. Using antibodies to target cancer proteins is typically performed by using multiple drugs at once, Nsole Biteghe said. But this approach stimulates the immune system so much that it can end up attacking healthy body tissues. “By using just one drug, we enhanced the efficacy,” Nsole Biteghe said. “It enables doctors to directly correlate the drug that is going into the cells with the therapeutic outcome.” His innovation is to use local light, or photoimmu...
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Multimodal Microscopy Imaging Method Charts Course for Monitoring Brain Metabolic Changes

A microscopy system developed by researchers at MIT addresses the challenges of using all-optical imaging techniques to visualize metabolic changes and neuronal activity deep within the brain. Using the system, which combines acoustic imaging and multiphoton excitation, the researchers achieved exceptional depth and sharp images by combining several advanced technologies into one microscope. In the system, an ultrasound microphone located in the microscope detects the acoustic waves, and the recorded sound data is converted into high-resolution images. The solution additionally uses a near-infrared femtosecond (NIR-fs) laser for excitation, ensuring that the wavelength is long enough to penetrate deeply into tissue. “We merged all these techniques — three-photon, label-free, photoacoustic detection,” researcher Tatsuya Osaki said. “We integrated all these cutting-edge techniques into one process to establish this ‘Multiphoton-In and Acoustic-Out’ platform.” The label-free, multiphoto...
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