Fluorescence measurement instrumentation with pattern recognition capability

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Fluorescence is the property of some materials and organisms to absorb light and reemit it at different, warmer colors. The study of fluorescence has useful applications in several areas, of which agriculture, food processing, environmental studies, biochemical analysis, substance identification, and bacteria detection. Fluorescence measurements can be very accurate, with much better sensitivities than those obtained with using other spectroscopic techniques. Still, more innovative research is needed to improve further, and thus overcome some weaknesses of fluorescence methods. These include the bulk and cost of the required instruments, the need for precise calibration procedures, the need to compensate for environmental changes and the usually manual or semi-automatic measurement process. Also, the processing of the acquired data is a complex task and requires sophisticated techniques to extract useful information from the obtained spectra. This has led to the development of ad hoc acquisition techniques that are specific to given problems and cannot be generalized. This is in part because the sensor developers speak a technical language that is often obscure to end users who come from other areas of expertise.    Ongoing research in our laboratory aims at investigating basic questions such as the above, and ultimately propose integrated, system-on-a-chip, solutions that allow the study of the physical and chemical properties of various substances and/or the identification of these substances with their concentration in various contexts. In the present proposal, we address concerns of size and efficiency, and adding functionality such as the ability to perform automatic, online analysis of the acquired fluorescence signals in the absence of comprehensive models. We believe that our research will lead to the development of generic system-on-a-chip devices that can be easily adapted to various applications, including biomedical ones, while enhancing their ease of use by non technical experts.