For the latest news in the photonics industry go to
www.electrooptics.com/news
Focus: Research news
Blu-ray player detects biological toxins
A Blu-ray player with laser reader has been used as the basis of a simple, cost-effective way of detecting pathogenic bacteria in biological samples. Researchers from the Polytechnic University of Valencia in Spain developed the device, which could be used for clinical diagnosis and environmental monitoring in the future. The research was published in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics. In the new technique, the scientists first deposited biological samples in small quantities on the Blu-ray discs in the form of microarrays or two-dimensional arrays. The hydrophobic nature of the disc’s surface allows the proteins to be locked in place by passive adsorption. On a 90cm2
disc surface, it is
possible to imprint 138,000 points, each one 125µm in diameter. The laser reader of the Blu-ray player is then used to identify the bacteria and determine the concentration in the biological samples. ‘The low sample volume used (5-10µl) and the low cost of the developed hardware make this technology a very practical and economically competitive tool,’ said Ángel Maquieira, one of the authors of the paper.
According to the researchers, the accuracy and sensitivity of these electronic devices is similar to that obtained with conventional laboratory techniques, such as the quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The new process offers a simple yet practical strategy to eliminate samples before applying more exhaustive analytical techniques. ‘Samples that are shown to be positive by this methodology will also be positive using the other techniques,’ said Sergi Morais, another author of the paper.
4 ELECTRO OPTICS l APRIL 2014
Powerful 3D spectrograph installed on Very Large Telescope
A
new instrument that combines high resolution imaging with spectroscopy has been installed on the European
Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal Observatory in northern Chile. The device observed distant galaxies, bright stars and other test targets during the first period of observations, the results of which were presented at the 3D2014 workshop in March at ESO in Germany. The instrument, called Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE), is mounted on Unit Telescope 4 of the VLT, which is currently being converted into a fully adaptive telescope. The VLT Survey Telescope is the largest telescope designed to survey the skies in visible light. MUSE uses 24 spectrographs to separate light into its component colours to create both 3D images and spectra of selected regions of the sky, coupling the discovery potential of an imaging device with the measuring capabilities of a spectrograph. Astronomers are able to move
MUSE cryogenic system, which provides cooling and vacuum for the 24 MUSE detectors
through the data and study different views of the object at different wavelengths. The new instrument is the result of ten
years of design and development by the MUSE consortium. The leader of the team and principal investigator for the instrument, Roland Bacon from the Astrophysics Research Center of Lyon, commented: ‘It seems strange that this seven-tonne collection of optics, mechanics and electronics is now a fantastic time machine for probing the early Universe. We are very proud of the achievement — MUSE will remain a unique instrument for years to come.’ MUSE’s science goals include delving into
the early epochs of the Universe to probe the mechanisms of galaxy formation and studying both the motions of material in nearby galaxies and their chemical properties. It will have many other applications, including studies of the planets and satellites in the Solar System.
@electrooptics |
www.electrooptics.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41