Thermally tuned VCSEL at 850 nm as a low-cost alternative source for full-eye SS-OCT.

Swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) demonstrates superior performance in comparison to spectral domain OCT with regard to depth ranging. The main driver of cost for SS-OCT systems is, however, the price of the source. Here we show a low-cost alternative swept source that uses a thermally tuned vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) at 850 nm.

The Si elegans project at the interface of experimental and computational Caenorhabditis elegans neurobiology and behavior.

Objective: In light of recent progress in mapping neural function to behavior, we briefly and selectively review past and present endeavors to reveal and reconstruct nervous system function in Caenorhabditis elegans through simulation.

Approach: Rather than presenting an all-encompassing review on the mathematical modeling of C. elegans, this contribution collects snapshots of pathfinding key works and emerging technologies that recent single- and multi-center simulation initiatives are building on.

Geometrical Patterning of Super-Hydrophobic Biosensing Transistors Enables Space and Time Resolved Analysis of Biological Mixtures.

Pedot: PSS is a conductive polymer that can be integrated into last generation Organic Electrochemical Transistor (OECT) devices for biological inspection, identification and analysis. While a variety of reports in literature demonstrated the chemical and biological sensitivity of these devices, still their ability in resolving complex mixtures remains controversial. Similar OECT devices display good time dynamics behavior but lack spatial resolution.

Hollow plasmonic antennas for broadband SERS spectroscopy.

The chemical environment of cells is an extremely complex and multifaceted system that includes many types of proteins, lipids, nucleic acids and various other components. With the final aim of studying these components in detail, we have developed multiband plasmonic antennas, which are suitable for highly sensitive surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and are activated by a wide range of excitation wavelengths. The three-dimensional hollow nanoantennas were produced on an optical resist by a secondary electron lithography approach, generated by fast ion-beam milling on the polymer and then covered with silver in order to obtain plasmonic functionalities.

Optofluidic chip for single cell trapping and stretching fabricated by a femtosecond laser.

The authors present the design and optimization of an optofluidic monolithic chip, able to provide optical trapping and controlled stretching of single cells. The chip is fabricated in a fused silica glass substrate by femtosecond laser micromachining which can produce both optical waveguides and microfluidic channels with great accuracy. A new fabrication procedure adopted in this work allows the demonstration of microchannels with a square cross-section, thus guaranteeing an improved quality of the trapped cell images.