Blog | Syntec Optics

3-D Antibody Arrays Offer Better Sensing

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | January 17, 2017 at 3:42 am , by synadmn

Exploiting a process known as molecular self-assembly, MIT chemical engineers have built three-dimensional arrays of antibodies that could be used as sensors to diagnose diseases such as malaria or tuberculosis. These sensors, which contain up to 100 stacked layers of...

Visible-light Plasmonic Nanolaser Uses Dark Lattice Modes

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | January 10, 2017 at 11:49 pm , by synadmn

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Researchers at Aalto University (Espoo, Finland) are the first to develop a plasmonic nanolaser that operates at visible light frequencies and uses so-called dark lattice modes. The lifetimes of light captured in nanolaser dimensions are so short that the light...

Programmable Bulk Optical Materials from Silk

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | January 3, 2017 at 11:30 pm , by synadmn

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In recent years, natural silk has attracted increasing attention for its potential as a tough, biologically friendly medium for fashioning nano – to microscale optical devices. Now, engineers at Tufts University, USA, led by OSA Fellow Fiorenzo Omenetto, have taken...

Quasi Noise-free Digital Holography

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | January 2, 2017 at 12:12 am , by synadmn

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Noise originating from the coherent nature of laser light is the scourge of digital holography, reducing the quality of holographic images below that of conventional photographs. Now, Pasquale Memmolo of ISASI-CNR and collaborators have practically eliminated such noise by using...

Bulk Photovoltaic Effect For Next Generation Light Sensitive Devices

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | December 30, 2016 at 1:35 am , by synadmn

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Photodetectors are devices and materials that convert light to an electrical signal. They are ubiquitous in modern technological devices, ranging from mobile phone cameras to optoelectronic switches in telecommunications equipment. In the future, fast and efficient photodetectors will be critical...

LED Light Stimulation Could Someday Be Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | December 27, 2016 at 11:47 pm , by synadmn

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Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; Cambridge, MA) have shown that an optogenetic approach involving LED’s that flicker at a specific frequency can substantially reduce the beta amyloid plaques seen in Alzheimer’s disease. The method was shown in...

Biodegradable Polymer Coating For Implants

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | December 26, 2016 at 12:59 am , by synadmn

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Medical implants often carry surface substrates that release active substances or to which biomolecules or cells can adhere better. However, degradable gas phase coatings for degradable implants, such as surgical suture materials or scaffolds for tissue culturing, have been lacking...

For The First Time, Light Is Used To Specifically Design Polymers

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | December 23, 2016 at 12:44 am , by synadmn

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Chemists at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; Karlsruhe, Germany) are now controlling the fabrication of precision polymers using photochemical reactions at room temperature. The method allows for the precise, planned arrangement of the monomers (individual chain links) along polymer chains...

Biophotonics-driven Smartphone Attachment Detects Antimicrobial Resistance

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | December 20, 2016 at 10:58 pm , by synadmn

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A team of researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) has developed an automated diagnostic test reader for antimicrobial resistance that attaches to a smartphone. The technology could lead to routine testing for antimicrobial susceptibility – which is...

Movable Microplatform Floats On A Sea Of Droplets

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | December 19, 2016 at 12:14 am , by synadmn

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Microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS, are tiny machines fabricated using equipment and processes developed for the production of electronic chips and devices. They’ve found a wide variety of applications in today’s consumer electronics, but their moving parts can wear out over...