Blog | Syntec Optics

Chip-Based System for Detecting Ebola

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | October 5, 2015 at 6:06 am , by synadmn

Scientists at four U.S. institutions have developed a chip-based device that uses optical detection to sense infection by the deadly Ebola virus. The device, which ingeniously combines microfluidics and optics in a modular setup, reportedly can achieve sensitivities and dynamic...

Hyperspectral Imaging for Safety and Security

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | October 2, 2015 at 5:13 am , by synadmn

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Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) is a technique combining imaging and spectroscopy to survey a scene and extract detailed information. Also called imaging spectroscopy, HSI is a powerful, data-processing-intensive method that creates a “data cube” containing information about the properties of a...

Lab-on-a-Chip Cuts Costs of Sophisticated Lab Tests

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | September 30, 2015 at 3:15 am , by synadmn

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Engineers at Rutgers University have designed a three-inch long, and one-inch wide device that can replace benchtop assays and perform complex analyses using 90 percent less sample fluid than a traditional test. The new device uses microfluidics technology and could...

Ultrasonic Irradiation to enhance Chemotherapy

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | September 28, 2015 at 4:05 am , by synadmn

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Chemotherapy is a major component of modern cancer treatment, yet its efficacy is limited by its serious toxic effects on normal tissue. Drug dosages are therefore often inadequate for complete tumor regression. There is thus a clear need for a...

Confocal Microscopy helps reveal presence of four-stranded DNA in Living Cells

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | September 25, 2015 at 4:53 am , by synadmn

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Researchers are working to understand the four-stranded DNA structures thought to play a role in regulating how genes are switched on and off. To accomplish this, they have created a fluorescent molecule that, when examined using confocal microscopy, can reveal...

Optics in the Molecular Imaging Race

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | September 23, 2015 at 2:41 am , by synadmn

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Interest in molecular imaging has exploded in the last decade, with a solidly established market for pre-clinical small-animal imaging and with steady growth in the demand for human imaging systems to guide surgery and medical intervention. Competition has heated up...

Spinal Neuron Connections Probed with Fluorescence Microscopy

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | September 21, 2015 at 5:32 am , by synadmn

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Using two-photon fluorescence microscopy, researchers have gained new insight into how the spinal cord mediates commands from the brain to get the body moving. The findings could help identify ways to repair damaged neural connections in patients with spinal cord...

Researchers create new metal-organic and spongy ‘Hybrid Glasses’

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | September 18, 2015 at 8:01 am , by synadmn

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An international team of researchers reports how they have managed to use a relatively new family of sponge-like porous materials to develop new hybrid glasses. These engineered glasses could satisfy applications in advanced photonics, while also facilitating industrial-scale carbon capture...

Effective Photothermal Treatments for Cancer

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | September 16, 2015 at 4:56 am , by synadmn

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Upconverting nanoparticles are coupled with gold nanorods to achieve increased emission brightness, enhanced diagnostic strength, and improved determination of local temperature. Upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) are excited at near-IR wavelengths and emit fluorescent radiation in the visible spectrum. Read more here...

Miniature 3D camera designed for Brain Surgery

Posted in: Blog, Polymer Optics | September 14, 2015 at 4:34 am , by synadmn

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Scientists are developing an endoscope with a miniature stereo camera designed to produce 3D images from inside the brain to assist in brain surgery. The camera is a mere 4 mm in diameter and 15 mm long. The endoscope, the...