33results about How to "Improve the signal-to-background ratio" patented technology

The invention enables efficient, rapid, and sensitive enumeration of living cells by detecting microscopic colonies derived from in situ cell division using large area imaging. Microbial enumeration tests based on the invention address an important problem in clinical and industrial microbiology—the long time needed for detection in traditional tests—while retaining key advantages of the traditional methods based on microbial culture. Embodiments of the invention include non-destructive aseptic methods for detecting cellular microcolonies without labeling reagents. These methods allow for the generation of pure cultures which can be used for microbial identification and determination of antimicrobial resistance.

A method of measuring the enzymatic activity of a luciferase includes contacting a luminogenic protein, such as a luciferase, with a protected luminophore to form a composition; and detecting light produced from the composition. The protected luminophore provides increased stability and improved signal-to-background ratios relative to the corresponding unmodified coelenterazine.

The object of the invention is to measure temperature using pyrometers, in a simple and economic way, enabling precise temperature measurement, even for low temperatures. The invention presents a device and method for thermally treating substrates, wherein the substrate is exposed to at least a first and at least a second radiation; the predetermined wavelengths of the first radiation are absorbed between the first radiation source and the substrate; a radiation from the substrate is measured in the predetermined wavelength using a radiation detector arranged on the same side as a second radiation source; the second radiation from the second radiation source is modulated and determined.

The invention relates to an optical signal detection technology, in particular to a device and a method for eliminating a back light signal by utilizing a dual-optical switch. The invention solves the problem that the existing back light restraining technology can not eliminate the back light signal which is synchronous with a pulse laser signal and has the same frequency with the pulse laser signal. The device for eliminating the back light signal by utilizing the dual-optical switch comprises a pulse laser, a practice target, the dual-optical switch, a single photon detector and a computer, wherein the dual-optical switch comprises a first acoustic optical modulator and a second acoustic optical modulator; the external trigger input end of the pulse laser is connected with a pulse signal generator; and the external trigger input end of the pulse signal generator is connected with a function signal generator, and the output end of the pulse signal generator is connected with a time-to-amplitude converter. The invention solves the problem that the existing back light restraining technology can not eliminate the back light which is synchronous with the pulse laser signal and has the same frequency with the pulse laser signal, and is suitable for weak pulse laser signal detection in the fields of precision measurement, communication, information processing, military and the like.

Apparatus and methods for determining the absence or presence of contraband in an object with a fast neutron source for irradiating the object; a detector for measuring γ-rays emitted by the irradiated object from energy state relaxation as a result of neutron capture, typically after the object has been irradiated.

The present invention relates to a method for detecting antibodies against a target antigen in a sample which comprises contacting the sample with labelled target antigen, subjecting the sample to immunoprecipitation to precipitate antibodies in the sample and detecting the presence of antibodies against the target antigen in the sample by means of the presence of labelled target antigen in the immunoprecipitate, wherein the labelled target antigen is a fusion protein comprising the target antigen and a fluorescent protein label and the presence of labelled target antigen in the immunoprecipitate is detected by means of the fluorescence of the fluorescent label. The method is particularly suitable for use where the target antigen is an autoantigen and can also be used to identify autoantigens implicated in a particular autoimmune disorder by screening serum samples from patients with a clinical phenotype indicative or suggestive of an autoimmune disorder and suitable controls. The target protein may be from the cys-loop acetyl choline receptor ion channel gene superfamily, the voltage-gated calcium, sodium or potassium ion channel gene superfamily, the glutamate receptor gene family, a receptor tyrosine kinase, or other membrane associated channels such as aquaporin gene family.

The invention relates to a method for improving the detection sensitivity in homogenous TR-FRET based bioaffinity assays. The sensitivity is improved by the use of long lifetime donors together with a high energy transfer efficiency and by carrying out the detection of the energy transfer based emission of the acceptor in a time window which is opened after a delay of 1 microsecond or more, but less than 50 microseconds, calculated from the donor excitation, and which time window has a width of 1 microsecond or more, but less than 100 microseconds. The invention concerns also the use of the improved method in multianalyte assays. Furthermore, the invention concerns a device suitable for carrying out the improved method.

The present invention relates to compositions for and methods of optically imaging tissues or cells using imaging agents having desirable in vivo properties that result in improved signal-to-background ratio.

An x-ray detector module comprises a plurality of silicon drift detector cells arranged next to each other on a sensor chip. The sensor chip is arranged in a recess of a frame-shaped base support, such that the sensitive chip surface lies in the opening of the frame-shaped base support. A mask (10) is fixed to the side of the base support (2) opposite to the recess and covers the outer edge areas of external detector cells and ridges above the sensor chip (8) protrude into the opening of the base support (2). The ridges are arranged in such a manner that they cover the defining strips which are adjacent to the detector cells, in order to protect the external edge areas and the defining strips which are covered by the mask (10) counter to the incident x-ray photons.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an on-off type fluorescent compound used in gene analyses, which is highly stable and highly sensitive, and which enables amplification of a trace amount of gene signal and observation thereof. The present invention provides a compound represented by the following formula (1) or (2):

wherein R₁ represents an alkyl group containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms, an amino group, an amide group optionally having a protecting group or a substituent, a halogen atom, or a hydrogen atom; R₂ independently represents an alkyl group containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms, a halogen atom, or a hydrogen atom; R₃ represents an alkyl group containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms, an aryl group, or a hydrogen atom; R₄ represents a group containing an oxygen atom, or a hydrogen atom, wherein R₃ may bind to R₄ to form a ring.

Nerve-specific fluorophore formulations for direct or systemic administration are described. The formulations can be used in fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS) to aid in nerve preservation during surgical interventions.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for highly selectively releasing a molecule of interest such as an agent at a desired site while suppressing the influence of catabolic enzymes existing in vivo. The present invention provides a method for releasing a molecule of interest, which comprises steps of: hybridizing each of an “electron donor-first nucleic acid probe” molecule formed by binding an electron donor structure to a first nucleic acid probe having a nucleotide sequence complementary to a portion of a target nucleic acid sequence and a “molecule of interest-electron acceptor-second nucleic acid probe” molecule formed by binding an electron acceptor structure having a molecule of interest and an azide group to a second nucleic acid probe that has a nucleotide sequence complementary to said target nucleic acid sequence and differing from that of said first nucleic acid probe, to said target nucleic acid sequence; and allowing said “electron donor-first nucleic acid probe” molecule to act on said “molecule of interest-electron acceptor-second nucleic acid probe” molecule, so as to release said molecule of interest.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an on-off type fluorescent compound (a fluorescence-producing molecule system) used in gene analyses, which is highly stable (namely, being active for a long period of time) and highly sensitive, and which enables amplification of a trace amount of gene signal and observation thereof. The present invention provides a nonfluorescent molecule having a fluorescent substance skeleton such as fluorescein skeleton and having a group represented by —O—C(Y1)(Y2)-N₃ wherein each of Y1 and Y2 represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms, an alkoxy group containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms, an aryl group containing 6 to 10 carbon atoms, or a cyano group, in the molecule.