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Full-Text Articles in Physics

Raman Spectroscopy Detects Biochemical Changes Due To Different Cell Culture Environments In Live Cells In Vitro, Mahmoud Gargotti, Esen Efeoglu, Hugh Byrne, Alan Casey Oct 2018

Raman Spectroscopy Detects Biochemical Changes Due To Different Cell Culture Environments In Live Cells In Vitro, Mahmoud Gargotti, Esen Efeoglu, Hugh Byrne, Alan Casey

Articles

The in vitro cell culture environment can impact on cell biochemistry and cell cycle. The manifestation of such substrate-induced changes in cell cycle in the Raman microspectroscopic profiles of cell cultures is investigated at the level of nucleolus, nucleus and cytoplasm. HeLa immortalised human cervical cells and HaCaT dermal cells were cultured on three different substrates, conventional polystyrene cell culture dishes, CaF2 slides as a commonly used Raman substrate, and glass slides coated with Collagen Rat Tail, as a mimic of the extra cellular matrix (ECM) environment. A cell cycle study, based on percentage DNA content, as determined using Propidium …


Significance Of A Non-Thermal Plasma Treatment On Ldpe Biodegradation With Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Laurence Scally, Miroslav Gulan, Lars Weigang, Patrick Cullen, Vladimir Milosavljevic Oct 2018

Significance Of A Non-Thermal Plasma Treatment On Ldpe Biodegradation With Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Laurence Scally, Miroslav Gulan, Lars Weigang, Patrick Cullen, Vladimir Milosavljevic

Articles

The use of plastics has spanned across almost all aspects of day to day life. Although their uses are invaluable, they contribute to the generation of a lot of waste products that end up in the environment and end up polluting natural habitats such as forests and the ocean. By treating low-density polyethylene (LDPE) samples with non-thermal plasma in ambient air and with an addition of 4% CO2, the biodegradation of the samples can be increased due to an increase in oxidative species causing better cell adhesion and acceptance on the polymer sample surface. It was, however, found that the …


Serialised Holography For Brand Protection And Authentication, Dinesh Vather, Izabela Naydenova, Dervil Cody, Monika Zawadzka, Suzanne Martin, Emilia Mihaylova, Stephen Curran, Paul Duffy, Josune Portillo, Daniel Connell, Stephen Mcdonnell, Vincent Toal Aug 2018

Serialised Holography For Brand Protection And Authentication, Dinesh Vather, Izabela Naydenova, Dervil Cody, Monika Zawadzka, Suzanne Martin, Emilia Mihaylova, Stephen Curran, Paul Duffy, Josune Portillo, Daniel Connell, Stephen Mcdonnell, Vincent Toal

Articles

The problems presented by counterfeit products and documentation are discussed. Limitations of existing holograms for anti-counterfeit applications are described. We describe the advantages of full holographic serialisation and the requirements in terms of materials and techniques for mass production of true serialised holograms. These requirements having been met, we report for the first time the mass production of fully serialised holograms. The novelty of approach consists of the direct use of product manufacturer’s information as the object in a holographic recording system along with a self-processing photopolymer and modular optical system to facilitate mass production of truly serialised volume holograms. …


Advancing Raman Microspectroscopy For Cellular And Subcellular Analysis: Towards In Vitro High Content Spectralomic Analysis, Hugh Byrne, Franck Bonnier, Alan Casey, Marcus Maher, Jennifer Mcintyre, Esen Efeoglu, Zeineb Farhane Jun 2018

Advancing Raman Microspectroscopy For Cellular And Subcellular Analysis: Towards In Vitro High Content Spectralomic Analysis, Hugh Byrne, Franck Bonnier, Alan Casey, Marcus Maher, Jennifer Mcintyre, Esen Efeoglu, Zeineb Farhane

Articles

In the confocal mode, Raman microspectroscopy can profile the biochemical content of biological cells at a subcellular level, and any changes to it by exogenous agents, such as therapeutic drugs or toxicants. As an exploration of the potential of the technique as a high content, label free analysis technique, this report reviews work to monitor the spectroscopic signatures associated with the uptake and response pathways of commercial chemotherapeutic agents and polymeric nanoparticles by human lung cells. It is demonstrated that the signatures are reproducible and characteristic of the cellular event, and can be used, for example, to identify the mode …


Multicomponent Analysis Using A Confocal Raman Microscope, Zhengyuan Tang, Sinead J. Barton, Thomas E. Ward, John P. Lowry, Michelle M. Doran, Hugh Byrne, Bryan M. Hennelly Jun 2018

Multicomponent Analysis Using A Confocal Raman Microscope, Zhengyuan Tang, Sinead J. Barton, Thomas E. Ward, John P. Lowry, Michelle M. Doran, Hugh Byrne, Bryan M. Hennelly

Articles

Measuring the concentration of multiple chemical components in a low volume aqueous mixture by Raman spectroscopy has received significant interest in the literature. All of the contributions to date focus on the design of optical systems that facilitate the recording of spectra with high signal-to-noise ratio, by collecting as many Raman scattered photons as possible. In this study, the confocal Raman microscope set-up is investigated for multicomponent analysis. Partial Least Squares Regression is used to quantify physiologically relevant aqueous mixtures of glucose, lactic acid, and urea. The predicted error is 17.81 mg/dL for glucose, 10.6 mg/dL for lactic acid and …


Raman Spectral Analysis For Rapid Screening Of Dengue Infection, Tahir Mahmood, Haq Nawaz, A. Ditta, M.I. Majeed, M.A. Hanif, N. Rashid, H.N. Bhatti, H.F. Nargis, M. Saleem, Franck Bonnier, Hugh Byrne May 2018

Raman Spectral Analysis For Rapid Screening Of Dengue Infection, Tahir Mahmood, Haq Nawaz, A. Ditta, M.I. Majeed, M.A. Hanif, N. Rashid, H.N. Bhatti, H.F. Nargis, M. Saleem, Franck Bonnier, Hugh Byrne

Articles

Infection with the dengue virus is currently clinically detected according to different biomarkers in human blood plasma, commonly measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assays, including non-structural proteins (Ns1), immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG). However, there is little or no mutual correlation between the biomarkers, as demonstrated in this study by a comparison of their levels in samples from 17 patients. As an alternative, the label free, rapid screening technique, Raman spectroscopy has been used for the characterisation/diagnosis of healthy and dengue infected human blood plasma samples. In dengue positive samples, changes in specific Raman spectral bands associated with …


Holographic Beam-Shaping Diffractive Diffusers Fabricated By Using Controlled Laser Speckle, Kevin Murphy, Vincent Toal, Izabela Naydenova, Suzanne Martin Apr 2018

Holographic Beam-Shaping Diffractive Diffusers Fabricated By Using Controlled Laser Speckle, Kevin Murphy, Vincent Toal, Izabela Naydenova, Suzanne Martin

Articles

A method for fabricating diffractive holographic optical diffusers is reported, allowing a high degree of control of the resulting diffuser characteristics. The method consists of recording a laser speckle pattern using a single carrier beam, with controlled speckle size and shape, in an acrylamide-based volume photopolymer. The multiple interferences that create the speckle pattern form the hologram. Results are presented verifying the diffusers are volume holographic in nature and the speckle pattern is recorded accurately in the photopolymer. Diffusers recorded by this method are analysed to characterise the optical performance of the diffusers and to illustrate their beam-shaping capabilities, particularly …


Studies Of Geometrical Profiling In Fabricated Tapered Optical Fbers Using Whispering Gallery Modes Spectroscopy, Vishnu Kavungal, Gerald Farrell, Qiang Wu, Arun Kumar Mallik, Yuliya Semenova Mar 2018

Studies Of Geometrical Profiling In Fabricated Tapered Optical Fbers Using Whispering Gallery Modes Spectroscopy, Vishnu Kavungal, Gerald Farrell, Qiang Wu, Arun Kumar Mallik, Yuliya Semenova

Articles

This paper experimentally demonstrates a method for geometrical profiling of asymmetries in fabricated thin microfiber tapers with waist diameters ranging from ∼10 to ∼50µm with submicron accuracy. The method is based on the analysis of whispering gallery mode resonances excited in cylindrical fiber resonators as a result of evanescent coupling of light propagating through the fiber taper. The submicron accuracy of the proposed method has been verified by SEM studies. The method can be applied as a quality control tool in fabrication of microfiber based devices and sensors or for fine-tuning of microfiber fabrication set-ups.


High Sensitivity Temperature Sensor Based On Singlemode-No-Core- Singlemode Fibre Structure And Alcohol, Ke Tiana, Gerald Farrell, Xianfan Wang, Yifan Xin, Yanqiu Du, Wenlei Yang, Haidong Liang, Elfed Lewis, Pengfei Wang Jan 2018

High Sensitivity Temperature Sensor Based On Singlemode-No-Core- Singlemode Fibre Structure And Alcohol, Ke Tiana, Gerald Farrell, Xianfan Wang, Yifan Xin, Yanqiu Du, Wenlei Yang, Haidong Liang, Elfed Lewis, Pengfei Wang

Articles

A high sensitivity temperature sensor based on a singlemode-no-core-singlemode (SNCS) fibre structure and surrounded with alcohol within a silica capillary is described. In this investigation, no-core fibre (NCF) is used as the multimode waveguide and alcohol is chosen as the temperature sensitive medium. By packaging the alcohol solution with a short length of NCF enclosed within a silica capillary, the surrounding temperature can be detected by monitoring the variations of transmission loss at a specific wavelength. The theoretical analysis predicts this temperature sensor can provide high sensitivity, and the experimental results support this. The maximum temperature sensitivity of the sample …


Nano–Bio Interactions: Nanomedicine And Nanotoxicology, Hugh Byrne, S. Mukherjee, Pratap C. Naha Jan 2018

Nano–Bio Interactions: Nanomedicine And Nanotoxicology, Hugh Byrne, S. Mukherjee, Pratap C. Naha

Articles

The 21st century has truly become the age of nanotechnology. Nanomaterials, design strategies, and processing have already made a significant impact in areas of materials science and electronics, with many commercial applications already being available on the consumer market. However, the ability to manipulate material functions and interactions on a scale of tens of nanometers, e.g., biological subcellular organelles, may yet prove to have the most significant impact on human health and the environment.


Self-Processing Photopolymer Materials For Versatile Design And Fabrication Of Holographic Sensors And Interactive Holograms, Dervil Cody, Sabad-E Gul, Tatsiana Mikulchyk, Muhammad Irfan, Anastasia Kharchenko, Kamila Goldyn, Suzanne Martin, Svetlana Mintova, John Cassidy, Izabela Naydenova Jan 2018

Self-Processing Photopolymer Materials For Versatile Design And Fabrication Of Holographic Sensors And Interactive Holograms, Dervil Cody, Sabad-E Gul, Tatsiana Mikulchyk, Muhammad Irfan, Anastasia Kharchenko, Kamila Goldyn, Suzanne Martin, Svetlana Mintova, John Cassidy, Izabela Naydenova

Articles

The aim of this paper is to discuss the benefits as well as the limitations of utilizing photopolymer materials in the design of holograms that are responsive to changes in their environment, such as changes in the concentration of a specific substance, temperature, and pressure. Three different case studies are presented, including both surface and volume phase holograms, in order to demonstrate the flexibility in the approach of utilizing holographic photopolymers for the design of sensors and interactive optical devices. First, a functionalized surface relief hologram is demonstrated to operate as an optical sensor for the detection of metal ions …


Theoretical Modeling And Design Of Photonic Structures In Zeolite Nanocomposites For Gas Sensing. Part Ii: Volume Gratings, Dervil Cody, Izabela Naydenova Jan 2018

Theoretical Modeling And Design Of Photonic Structures In Zeolite Nanocomposites For Gas Sensing. Part Ii: Volume Gratings, Dervil Cody, Izabela Naydenova

Articles

The suitability of holographic structures fabricated in zeolite nanoparticle-polymer composite materials for gas sensing applications has been investigated. Theoretical modelling of the sensor response (i.e. change in hologram readout due to a change in refractive index modulation or thickness as a result of gas adsorption) of different sensor designs was carried out using Raman-Nath theory and Kogelnik’s Coupled Wave Theory. The influence of a range of parameters on the sensitivity of holographically-recorded surface and volume photonic structures has been studied, namely hologram geometry, hologram thickness and spatial frequency, reconstruction wavelength, and zeolite nanoparticle refractive index. From this, the optimum fabrication …


Development Of A Photopolymer Holographic Lens For Collimation Of Light From A Green Light-Emitting Diode, Sanjay Keshri, Kevin Murphy, Vincent Toal, Izabela Naydenova, Suzanne Martin Jan 2018

Development Of A Photopolymer Holographic Lens For Collimation Of Light From A Green Light-Emitting Diode, Sanjay Keshri, Kevin Murphy, Vincent Toal, Izabela Naydenova, Suzanne Martin

Articles

A holographic optical element (HOE) was developed to collimate a monochromatic light-emitting diode (LED). The fabrication was achieved by the interference of collimated and diverging beams from a 532 nm laser to produce the required photonic structure in a self-developing photopolymer material. The experimental values of diffraction efficiency and spatial period across the HOE were compared with their expected theoretical values. Good agreement was found for the spatial period; however, the diffraction efficiency varied significantly across the lens. In this paper, two approaches have been taken to address this variation: (1) modification of recording geometry and (2) optimization of recording …


Enabling Quantification Of Protein Concentration In Human Serum Biopsies Using Attenuated Total Reflectance – Fourier Transform Infrared (Atr-Ftir) Spectroscopy, Kate Spalding, Franck Bonnier, Clément Bruno, Hélène Blasco, Ruth E. Board, Isabelle Benz-De-Bretagne, Hugh Byrne, Holly J. Butler, Igor Chourpa, Pretheepan Radhakrishnan, Matthew J. Baker Jan 2018

Enabling Quantification Of Protein Concentration In Human Serum Biopsies Using Attenuated Total Reflectance – Fourier Transform Infrared (Atr-Ftir) Spectroscopy, Kate Spalding, Franck Bonnier, Clément Bruno, Hélène Blasco, Ruth E. Board, Isabelle Benz-De-Bretagne, Hugh Byrne, Holly J. Butler, Igor Chourpa, Pretheepan Radhakrishnan, Matthew J. Baker

Articles

Changes in protein concentrations within human blood are used as an indicator for nutritional state, hydration and underlying illnesses. They are often measured at regular clinical appointments and the current analytical process can result in long waiting times for results and the need for return patient visits. Attenuated total reflectance – Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy has the ability to detect minor molecular differences, qualitatively and quantitatively, in biofluid samples, without extensive sample preparation. ATR-FTIR can return an analytical measurement almost instantaneously and therefore could be deemed as an ideal technique for monitoring molecular alterations in blood within the clinic. …


K-Means And Hierarchical Cluster Analysis As Segmentation Algorithms Of Ftir Hyperspectral Images Collected From Cutaneous Tissue, Cassio Lima, Luciana Correa, Hugh Byrne, Denise Zezell Jan 2018

K-Means And Hierarchical Cluster Analysis As Segmentation Algorithms Of Ftir Hyperspectral Images Collected From Cutaneous Tissue, Cassio Lima, Luciana Correa, Hugh Byrne, Denise Zezell

Articles

Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is a rapid and label-free analytical technique whose potential as a diagnostic tool has been well demonstrated. The combination of spectroscopy and microscopy technologies enable wide-field scanning of a sample, providing a hyperspectral image with tens of thousands of spectra in a few minutes. In order to increase the information content of FTIR images, different clustering algorithms have been proposed as segmentation methods. However, systematic comparative tests of these techniques are still missing. Thus, the present paper aims to compare the ability of K-means Cluster Analysis (KMCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) as clustering algorithms …


Spectroscopic Study Of Excited Molecular Nitrogen Generation Due To Interactions Of Metastable Noble Gas Atoms, Laurence Scally, James Lalor, Miroslav Gulan, Patrick J. Cullen, Vladimir Milosavljevic Jan 2018

Spectroscopic Study Of Excited Molecular Nitrogen Generation Due To Interactions Of Metastable Noble Gas Atoms, Laurence Scally, James Lalor, Miroslav Gulan, Patrick J. Cullen, Vladimir Milosavljevic

Articles

This work provides an insight into the generation of excited nitrogen species by allowing noble gases to interact both with one another and ambient air. He and Ar were utilized to generate the optimum selectivity process to create reactive nitrogen species. An optimum setting for the generation of excited molecular nitrogen species, based on their excited energy levels, was obtained when using a mixture of Ar-He at a ratio of 10:1. At that point, when a voltage of 27 kV is applied to the system, it reached the maximum efficiency for selectivity processes to occur which allowed for a greater …


Singlemode-Multimode-Singlemode Fibre Structure For Phase Transition Monitoring In Phase Changing Materials, Rahul Kumar, Wei Han, Dejun Liu, Wai Pang Ng, Richard Binns, Krishna Busawon, Yong Qing Fu, Zabih Ghassemlooy, Christopher Underwood, Khamid Mahkmov, Jinhui Yuan, Chongxiu Yu, Huazhong Shu, Xing Ao Li, Tuan Guo, Gerald Farrell, Yuliya Semenova, Qiang Wu Prof. Jan 2018

Singlemode-Multimode-Singlemode Fibre Structure For Phase Transition Monitoring In Phase Changing Materials, Rahul Kumar, Wei Han, Dejun Liu, Wai Pang Ng, Richard Binns, Krishna Busawon, Yong Qing Fu, Zabih Ghassemlooy, Christopher Underwood, Khamid Mahkmov, Jinhui Yuan, Chongxiu Yu, Huazhong Shu, Xing Ao Li, Tuan Guo, Gerald Farrell, Yuliya Semenova, Qiang Wu Prof.

Articles

Abstract. A platinum-coated singlemode-multimode structure is investigated in this paper as an optical fibre sensor (OFS) to monitor the phase transition of a phase change material (PCM). Paraffin wax has been used as an example to demonstrate the sensor’s performance and operation. Most materials have the same temperature but different thermal energy levels during the phase change process, therefore, sole dependency on temperature measurement may lead to an incorrect estimation of the stored energy in PCM. The output spectrum of the reflected light from the OFS is very sensitive to the bend introduced by the PCM where both liquid and …


Optical Fiber Fresnel Reflection Sensor For Direct Detection Of The Solid-Liquid Phase Change In N-Octadecane, Wei Han, Marek Rebow, Dejun Liu, Gerald Farrell, Yuliya Semenova, Qiang Wu Jan 2018

Optical Fiber Fresnel Reflection Sensor For Direct Detection Of The Solid-Liquid Phase Change In N-Octadecane, Wei Han, Marek Rebow, Dejun Liu, Gerald Farrell, Yuliya Semenova, Qiang Wu

Articles

An all optical fiber Fresnel reflection sensor for detecting the solid–liquid phase change in n-octadecane is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The sensor probe consists of a single-mode fiber with a cleaved end which is immersed in the material sample under test. As the n-octadecane changes from solid to liquid or from liquid to solid, its refractive index (RI) changes resulting in changes of the light power ratio reflected by the probe. Since the RI of n-octadecane during its phase transition changes discontinuously, inflection in the reflected light power ratio dependence indicates the phase change of the sample in the vicinity …


Robust, Bridge-Less Ion-Selective Electrodes With Significantly Reduced Need For Pre- And Post-Application Handling, Benjamin Schazmann, S. Demey, Z. Waqar Ali, M-S Plissart, E. Brennan, A. Radu Jan 2018

Robust, Bridge-Less Ion-Selective Electrodes With Significantly Reduced Need For Pre- And Post-Application Handling, Benjamin Schazmann, S. Demey, Z. Waqar Ali, M-S Plissart, E. Brennan, A. Radu

Articles

We are demonstrating robust, single-layer ion-selective electrode (ISE) utilizing simple Ag/AgCl electrode as solid support without the need for intermediate polymer layer. We have created and chemically linked a family of imidazolium ionic liquids (ILs) with poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC) using click chemistry, resulting in hybrid materials with tunable characteristics. The resultant material inherently contains chloride ion thus offering the ability to stabilize interfacial potential. This allowed us to construct very simple, single-layer membranes with significantly reduced need for conditioning as an added bonus compared to traditional sensors. Chemical immobilization of ISE membrane components also led to extended lifetime as …


Application Of Box-Behnken Experimental Design For The Formulation And Optimisation Of Selenomethionine-Loaded Chitosan Nanoparticles Coated With Zein For Oral Delivery., Giuliana Vozza, Minna Danish, Hugh Byrne, Jesus Maria Frias, Sinéad M. Ryan Jan 2018

Application Of Box-Behnken Experimental Design For The Formulation And Optimisation Of Selenomethionine-Loaded Chitosan Nanoparticles Coated With Zein For Oral Delivery., Giuliana Vozza, Minna Danish, Hugh Byrne, Jesus Maria Frias, Sinéad M. Ryan

Articles

Selenomethionine is an essential amino acid with a narrow therapeutic index and susceptibility to oxidation. Here it was encapsulated into a nanoparticle composed of chitosan cross-linked with tripolyphosphate for oral delivery. The formulation was optimised using a three-factor Box-Behnken experimental design. The chitosan:tripolyphosphate ratio, chitosan solvent pH, and drug load concentration were independently varied. The dependent variables studied were encapsulation efficiency, particle size, polydispersity index and zeta potential. For optimisation, encapsulation efficiency and zeta potential were maximised, particle diameter was set to 300 nm and polydispersity index was minimised. A 0.15 mg/mL concentration of selenomethionine, chitosan solvent pH of 3, …