Life Sciences

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a powerful plasmonics-based analytical technique for biosensing. SERS effect relies on nanostructures that need to be designed to maximize enhancement factors and molecular specificity. In addition to numerical modeling, an analytical tool capable of imaging localized enhancement would be an added value.

Adeno-Associated Viruses (AAVs) are becoming widely used as viral vectors to deliver cell and gene therapies and vaccines. As production methods scale to meet growing demand, more information is needed more quickly.

HORIBA’s Duetta, a CCD-based dual fluorescence/absorbance spectrometer is a very capable instrument for the determination of Chl A concentration by fluorescence due to its inherent sensitivity and ability to automatically correct for the inner filter effect (IFE), which ensures a very high dynamic range for such analysis. It also can be used to quantify the concentration of the standard stock solution by absorbance, thus eliminating a need for a dedicated UV-VIS spectrometer.

Phospholipid bilayers, major constituents of membranes act as a barrier of selective permeability for the nanoparticles now largely into our environment. Studying the interactions between nanoparticles and cellular membranes requires a molecular chemical probe with nanometer resolution capability.

This technical note serves as a guideline to selecting the best solid state detector with the Fluorolog-QM modular research spectrofluorometer for a given series of photoluminescence experiments.

An imaging platform that combines Raman microscopy with enhanced darkfield and hyperspectral imaging technology was used to study lung tissue sections containing carbon nanotubes. It enabled easy identification of the regions containing the carbon nanotubes followed by spectroscopic characterization of chemical composition.

In this application note, we highlight the high sensitivity of the Duetta for measuring transferrin at very low concentrations. The Duetta spectrofluorometer combines both fluorescence and absorbance measurements simultaneously, thus providing key advantages for protein analysis. In parallel, we compare the fluorescence results obtained using the Duetta with absorbance results obtained with a dedicated low-volume, benchtop spectrophotometer.

Duetta is an analytical instrument capable of recording both the fluorescence and the absorbance of a sample. Absorbance data provides concentration-dependant information on non-fluorescent compounds. Through its user-friendly software, Duetta allows different measurements related to biomolecules like DNA, RNA and proteins including protein concentration, DNA/RNA purity, finding the concentration of an unknown sample based on a standard-based calibration curve, Pass/Fail testing and all standard fluorescence and absorbance related measurements. All these functionalities are possible through dedicated applications in EzSpec™ software for Duetta.

Can we accurately and quickly measure the amount of carbon contained in the material?

The use of metal surfaces in conjunction with fluorescence molecules employing a plasmon effect, sometimes referred to as metal enhanced fluorescence, can be advantageous because of the possible enhancement of photophysical properties.

The prevalence of allergies in the world is between 30 and 40%. Even though it exists medical treatments such as antihistaminic and desensitization this number is constantly increasing. Thus, in this application note, the identification and chemical characterization of aeroallergens by Raman microscopy will allow to prevent people who are affected by respiratory allergies of the presence of this type of allergens in indoor and outdoor air.

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) associated to Raman spectroscopy has proven to be a powerful technique for probing chemical properties at the nanoscale. TERS in liquids will bring promising results in in-situ investigation of biological samples, catalysis and electrochemical reactions.

In this study, we demonstrate the ViewSizer 3000’s capabilities as a next generation NTA based analysis instrument in order to accurately and efficiently measure and characterize exosomes via particle size and concentration.

The new HORIBA Duetta fluorescence and absorbance spectrometer offers many unique benefits for molecular spectroscopy. It is primarily thought of as a spectrofluorometer that combines absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy to correct the fluorescence fingerprint for concentration-related effects. Duetta can also be used as a precise absorbance spectrometer. This application note explores the use of Duetta for a common absorbance application, the Protein A280 application.

Certain fluorescent molecules, known as molecular rotors, can be employed to estimate the local (nanoscale) viscosity in microheterogeneous systems by measurement of their fluorescence lifetime. This can be advantageous over the usual fluorescence anisotropy method, as the measurement is simpler and faster to perform. This is demonstrated using the HORIBA Scientific TemPro fluorescence lifetime system to monitor the gelation of silica produced using the sol‐gel technique.

The use of low molecular weight molecules in the industries of drug discovery and agri-food has become increasingly important over the course of a century of drug research and science development in agriculture and in pharmaceutical field.

Quantum dots (QDs) are semiconducting spheres in the size typically in the range of 1 to 10nm. The size of these small spheres give quantum dots the semiconducting properties and resulting photoluminescence that would not necessarily occur for the same material on larger scales.

In recent years, Spectroscopic Ellipsometry application is extended to the life science. In this article, we introduce two examples from this field: Biocompatibility of DLC films and demineralization and remineralization process of tooth surface.

Research in nanoscience has garnered much interest because of the different properties of small structures compared to the respective bulk material.

With the rise of protein production using mammalian cell culture, it has become increasingly important to control the quality of the cell culture media for use in production processes. Cell culture media are usually prepared as aqueous solutions and should provide everything a cell line needs for optimal cell growth as well as product yield and quality.

InGaAs/GaAs and InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) have been identified as suitable candidates for various applications in the terahertz range by using their intraband carrier transitions.

The NanoLog has a reputation as the premier instrument for the exploration of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs).

Silica is currently one of the most important industrial materials, whose nanoparticles are formed via a sol-gel process.

HORIBA Jobin Yvon’s spectrofluorometers have many applications in nanophotonics research: single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), quantum dots (QDs), and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Quantum confinement affects nanomaterials’ photoluminescence: when the semiconducting nanoparticle is smaller than the bulk material’s Bohrexciton radius, the bandgap energy is inversely proportional to the nanoparticle size.

The brightly-colored coral reefs that make scuba-diving and snorkeling so enjoyable are essential to the survival of much underwater life. Not only do reefs offer a haven for smaller fish to hide from larger predators, but also some fish actually survive by eating the reefs themselves. Reefs offer protection to plants and animals from the ravages of waves and ocean currents. Thus, when the reefs die, so do many other living creatures.

Raman Spectroscopy was evaluated as a non-invasive method of analysis of sperm DNA and the influence of UV irradiation on the sperm. The results show that Raman Spectroscopy, combined with multivariate analysis provide the reproducible and accurate information on DNA of sperm and the effect and location of damage.

Fast and non-invasive methods for clinical and non clinical investigations for biological tissue are more and more required. Raman imaging at micro scale can answer to crucial questions about the monkey brain tissue morphology and structural evolution.

To access intrinsic amino acids, such as tryptophan, as probes, the UV excitation wavelengths for pulsed phosphorescence measurements have long been the preserve of low-repetition-rate gas-filled lamps or larger laser systems. Recent developments have enabled the use of interchangeable semiconductor diodes...

The TRIAX and iHR series spectrometers used in Raman system configurations provide superior imaging performance with no re-diffracted light and maximized optical throughput.

Quantum dots (QDs) have potential applications in optoelectronics, biosensing, biolabeling, memory devices, and sources of laser light.

HORIBA Jobin Yvon’s NanoLog® spectrofluorometer, specially optimized for recording near-IR fluorescence from nanoparticles, includes a double-grating excitation monochromator, imaging emission spectrograph with a selectable-grating turret, and a variety of detectors.

Tryptophan phosphorescence within protein molecules is gaining attention as a probe of protein dynamics and structure. The tryptophan phosphorescence lifetime, τ, varies with the protein molecule’s local environment and conformation.

Corrected emission spectra1 of carbon nanoparticles can provide excitation–emission matrices (EEMs) for a range of excitation wavelengths.

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), consisting of rolled-up single sheets of carbon atoms, have received much attention recently.

Traditionally, Raman has been a technique of the material scientist, physicist or chemist, but as instrumentation continues to evolve, the power of Raman in biological and medical applications is fast being realized, not least because of the high information content provided and an excellent tolerance for water.

Fluorescence measurements with HORIBA Scientific spectrofluorometers are a sensitive tool for probing biochemical interactions such as molecular beacons and DNA.

The majority of proteins are glycosylated: they possess oligosaccharide chains and are hence termed glycoproteins. Oligosaccharides, also called carbohydrate or sugar, are often quite large (as large as some protein domains for example) and they have many functions in molecular interactions.

Description of the advantages of combining the use of peptide chips with direct label-free detection as achieved by SPR imaging (SPRi).

This application note shows that the HORIBA Scientific SPRi platform is suitable for the analysis of aptamer-based molecular interactions. For this purpose, the interaction between human IgE protein, an antibody involved in allergic reactions, and a human IgE specific aptamer4 is presented as proof-of-concept.

Among the possible fluorescence biosensors for medical and biochemical monitoring and imaging are the flavonoids, compounds that occur in many plants and their products, such as tea, chocolate, and red wine.

Our SPRi technology (Surface Plasmon Resonance imaging), is able to measure multiplexed label-free biolo-gical interactions in a complex media such as serum.We will demonstrate the ability to monitor specific interactions between immobilized peptides and proteins issued from non purified immune sera, using a cystamine/glutaraldehyde SAM surface chemistry on the bio-chip surface. We chose to illustrate this ability by monitoring the interaction between an ovalbumin peptide fragment and an ovalbumin immunized serum.

The purpose of this proof of concept is to show that Surface Plasmon Resonance imaging (SPRi) is a suitable technique to detect allergens. Compared with other techniques, such as ELISA or Luminex, which are based on colorimetric or fluorescence detection, this technology does not require the labeling of antibodies.

HORIBA provides the pharmaceutical industry, biotech companies and academic research laboratories with high performance instrumentation based on SPRi technology (Surface Plasmon Resonance imaging). To demonstrate the power of this technology, we carried out an experiment based on an antibody-antigen interaction. Original surface chemistry combined with an electrochemical process allows the rapid coupling of biomolecules to the gold layer (polypyrrole co-polymerisation) on the top of a glass prism.

Rapid mixing accessories to perform stopped flow measurements have found application in characterizing interactions and reactions occurring in solution. Reactants are expelled from syringes, mixed and injected into a flowcell.

The potential health benefits stemming from the antioxidant activity of curcumin, commonly found in turmeric (Curcuma longa L), has attracted the interest of several research groups.

Polarized light striking a fluorescent molecule results in polarized fluorescence. This polarized emission gradually returns to unpolarized fluorescence depending on rotational diffusion and other factors. Anisotropy is directly related to the polarization, and is the ratio of the polarized light component to the total light intensity.