Photonic Instrumentation in Life Science

Author: James THEPOT; President, HORIBA FRANCE SAS; Corporate Officer, HORIBA, Ltd. – Photonic instrumentation has undergone major evolution over the last decades.Many techniques that are now very popular, such as time-resolved fluorescence, and Raman spectroscopy, were already known at that time, but they could only be used by scientists highly skilled in photonics, for time-consuming experiment. Now, scientific instruments have so much progressed in terms of performance and automation, that they can be used by a large number of scientists and technical specialists in various fields.These progress have been made possible by the improvement of technologies, but also by the vision and skills of people. The papers in this issue shows that a number of Horibarians*1 have had the passion and talent to be the drivers of a number of these major improvements. *1: HORIBA Group company employees.

Author: Kiyoaki HARA; Fellow, HORIBA, Ltd. – Abstract: Time-resolved fluorescence measurements reveal intermolecular interactions depending upon the environment of the fluorophore. This paper describes the basic background and some examples of how the fluorescence lifetime is more informative than steady-state fluorescence measurements. HORIBA has many fluorescence technologies and resources.

Author: David J S BIRCH; President HORIBA JOBIN YVON IBH Ltd., Professor of the University of Strathclyde; David MCLOSKEY – Abstract: We summarise how developments in technology have brought fluorescence lifetime spectroscopy from being the preserve of the specialist to becoming a major tool for research across many science and engineering disciplines. We highlight the advantages which fluorescence lifetime measurements can bring, not only to underpin research, but also through application in helping to solve real-world problems. We illustrate this with recent examples in cancer and Alzheimer’s research, which are aimed at improving disease understanding, diagnosis and therapeutics.

Author: Akiyoshi KUZUME; Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology – Abstract: In situ Raman spectroscopy is capable of probing electron transfer processes under electrochemical condition by monitoring local structure and reactivity properties of solid/liquid interfaces. Therefore, in situ Raman spectroscopy is now recognized as one of the powerful surface characterisation techniques for the investigation of the fundamental and application studies, such as development of energy conversion and bio-mediating devices. In addition, an introduction of nanostructured surfaces increases the sensitivity of Raman signals, capable of observing spectroscopic features from molecular level. This article gives a brief history of Raman spectroscopy in the introduction, followed by an overview of the recent in situ Raman spectroscopic studies in our group, particularly focusing on the electrochemical and microbial electron transfer processes at solid/liquid interfaces under electrochemical condition.

Author: Marinella SANDROS; HORIBA Instruments Inc.; Fran ADAR – When light interacts with matter (i.e. molecule/sample) many interesting phenomena occur. Light may get absorbed by your sample and depending on the sample properties you will observe light emission, reflection and scattering. HORIBA Scientific builds tools that measure these phenomena allowing our users to gain meaningful information about their samples. This information is used to solve outstanding problems in research or guide scientists to monitor product development in various fields. Life Science, in particular, is an attractive market because, over the years, it has experienced exponential growth, and continues to do so. All the divisions that engage in the scientific study of living organisms including plants, animals and human beings fall under the life science umbrella. This article will highlight the key contributions our products offer in the life science subdivisions - pharmaceutical and health sciences - and will compare their advantages over existing technologies.

Author: Fatima-Ezzahra HIBTI; HORIBA FRANCE SAS; Chiraz FRYDMAN – Abstract: Crude sample means the sample existing in a natural state and unaltered by any process. Characterizing the molecular affinities in the native medium makes it possible to understand the biological mechanisms at the molecular scales. Our systems (XelPleX) allow the analysis of the molecular binding in a complex media and generate valuable data such as determination of real-time interactions and kinetics. Indeed, the injection of complex samples without dilution, such as serum or plasma, is no longer an issue for diagnostic research or drug screening. The aim of this article is to demonstrate the capability of the Surface Plasmon Resonance imaging technology (SPRi) to detect and quantify a biomarker as an Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) diagnosis tool.

Author: Adam GILMORE; HORIBA Instruments Inc.; Sakiko AKAJI, Karoly CSATORDAY – Abstract:The patented (US patent US8,901,513) Aqualog which facilitates simultaneous Absorbance- Transmission and fluorescence Excitation-Emission Matrix (A-TEEM) technology, provides rapid access to a wide range of parameters of significance in water treatment, drug and protein analysis as well as the food and beverage industry. We think of Aqualog as an instrument for water analysis, but find that it is adept at wine analysis and more. Aqualog acquires a complete UV-VIS spectrum including the wine industry-standard Absorbance wavelength values at 280, 420, 520 and 620 nm which are important to evaluate a wine’s phenolic content, and derive characteristic Hue and Intensity values. Aqualog also reports the Transmission spectrum which can be used to determine the CIElab Tri-Coordinate color descriptions. Aqualog reports a NIST-traceable EEM fingerprint which can be evaluated using multivariate statistics such as PARAFAC (Parallel Factor Analysis) and PCA (Principal Components Analysis). Most importantly, A-TEEM fingerprints yield qualitative and quantitative composition of key flavor and color determinants in grape juice and wine that are not discernible with simple Absorbance or Transmission data analysis.

Author: Fran ADAR; HORIBA Instruments Inc.; Catalina DAVID; Marinella SANDROS – Abstract:For this article we have selected three topics where there is groundbreaking activity in Raman microscopy worldwide and where the implementation has potential to solve outstanding problems. Information on instrumentation innovations that are critical to some of this work (especially lab-on-a-chip) will be mentioned. The references, while not exhaustive, will provide the interested reader entry to the literature. The topics that have been selected are identification of bacterial micro-organisms, disease diagnosis, and Raman imaging.

Author: Marc CHAIGNEAU; HORIBA FRANCE SAS; Maruda SHANMUGASUNDARAM; Fran ADAR – Abstract: Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) combines the high chemical specificity of Raman scattering with the nanoscale spatial resolution of Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM). It enables label-free detection of surface components in multi-component samples with ultra-high spatial resolution (better than 20 nm). This aarticle describes how TERS can be applied to study biological systems ranging from pure components like amino acids to membrane receptors found in complex environments such as cell surfaces.

Author: Takumi MORIYAMA; HORIBA TECHNO SERVICE Co., Ltd.; Nataliya NABATOVA-GABAIN – Summary: Spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) is relatively inexpensive and quick method for characterization and optimization of diamond-like carbon film properties to match relevant biomedical application. SE could be used to study the demineralization and the remineralization process of tooth surface. It also could be used for other medical application like development of artifi cial saliva. We hope to increase life science application of SE in the near future.