Label-free sensing methods could enable detection and characterization of chemical species at the single molecule level without the aid of probes or modifications to the target of interest. Such capab...
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Cellular ecology is a major factor in processes like cell signaling and transport as well as in the development and progression of systemic diseases like cancer. In situ, in vitro studies are becoming...
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Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is used to generate copies of a particular DNA sequence. The technique is common and indispensable in many research applications. Unfortunately, methods for isolating/p...
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Measuring biomolecular interactions is a critical component in studies focused on nucleic acid and protein binding. For instance, in the pharmaceutical industry, it is crucial in the drug discovery an...
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Many laser applications require multiple, simultaneous laser beams, each with a specific wavelength. But using multiple lasers and associated optical components increases the cost and size of the syst...
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Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are cells shed from tumor deposits that flow into the bloodstream. They are detected at a frequency of about one CTC per one billion surrounding blood cells. The great h...
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Mass spectrometers are analytical instruments that can precisely measure the mass of molecules to determine their composition and identity. Generally, the molecules are ionized and then accelerated by...
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In the past decade, cataloguing the thousands of proteins present in a cell using mass spectrometry (MS) has matured into a procedure both deeply vital and straightforward. Yet discovering how such mo...
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Single molecule spectroscopy and microscopy – a popular tool for biological, biophysical and chemical characterization – generally requires the use of fluorescent molecules. Researchers at UW–M...
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Studying molecular properties in complex chemical and biological samples, including live cells, requires sufficient spatial resolution and contrast between different substructures. To achieve enhanced...
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Quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) are semiconductor lasers that provide light in the mid- and far-infrared wavelength ranges. They are designed so that the generated light is transverse-magnetic (TM) pola...
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Atomically sharp micro-fabricated tips are used in atomic force microscopy (AFM) for scanning near-field microwave microscopy (SNMM) to create an image of the tiny topography on or under a surface. Th...
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Proteins contain carboxyl groups. These charged groups make it difficult for any protein to enter a human (or other eukaryotic) cell. Modifying proteins to enter cells could revolutionize medicine, e....
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Germanium (Ge), a group-IV semiconductor material, is crucial to many established and potential technologies. In optoelectronics, Ge has been used as a photodetector material for on-chip data distribu...
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The ability to study single cells has become indispensable, helping researchers identify characteristics and behaviors otherwise hidden using population averages. By obtaining multiple measures per ce...
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A whispering gallery mode (WGM) is a type of electromagnetic wave that travels around a concave surface. Such waves can propagate at the edge of a very small structure called an optical microcavity. W...
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Exhaust emission and fuel economy standards have put increased pressure on the auto industry to improve the efficiency of internal combustion engines. While higher standards help protect the environme...
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Spectrometers are optical instruments used to measure light. They work by detecting spectral lines and measuring their wavelength or intensity. Spectrometers have many applications, including telecomm...
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Determining the amino acid sequence of any given protein or polypeptide is a formidable task. The first major technology to emerge for this purpose was the Edman degradation method, which sequences a ...
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Intrinsic and extrinsic fluorescent markers can help surgeons target and rapidly identify tumorous tissue. The signals given off by these markers are relatively faint and normally viewed with a fluore...
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Although current microscopic optical systems are highly sensitive, they are generally bulky and expensive, and most have a severely limited field of vision. One alternative is adaptive microlenses tha...
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Proteomics is a relatively new discipline that is a large scale study of proteins. It includes systematically identifying the sequence, characterizing the structure and evaluating the function of all ...
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Surface mounted and exposed sensors are used in objects commonly found in a modern society that range from simple temperature monitors to complex airbag ejection systems. But sensors located on the su...
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Cellular interactions and signaling in multicellular organisms involve complex pathways that can be difficult to study when using macroscale in vitro culture systems, in part because traditional macro...
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Protein characterization has become an integral part of modern biology, even inspiring a new discipline known as proteomics, or the classification of proteins based on the genome of an organism. ...
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