1977 results about "Fluorophore" patented technology

The present invention relates to methods and apparatuses for analyzing molecules, particularly polymers, and molecular complexes with extended or rod-like conformations. In particular, the methods and apparatuses are used to identify repetitive information in molecules or molecular ensembles, which is interpreted using an autocorrelation function in order to determine structural information about the molecules. The methods and apparatuses of the invention are used for, inter alia, determining the sequence of a nucleic acid, determining the degree of identity of two polymers, determining the spatial separation of specific sites within a polymer, determining the length of a polymer, and determining the velocity with which a molecule penetrates a biological membrane.

An optical detection and orientation device is provided comprising housing having an excitation light source, an optical element for reflecting the excitation light to an aspherical lens and transmitting light emitted by a fluorophore excited by said excitation light, a focussing lens for focusing the emitted light onto the entry of an optical fiber, which serves as a confocal aperture, and means for accurately moving said housing over a small area in relation to a channel in a microfluidic device. The optical detection and orientation device finds use in identifying the center of the channel and detecting fluorophores in the channel during operations involving fluorescent signals.

A method and device is disclosed for high speed, automated sequencing of nucleic acid molecules. A nucleic acid molecule to be sequenced is exposed to a polymerase in the presence of nucleotides which are to be incorporated into a complementary nucleic acid strand. The polymerase carries a donor fluorophore, and each type of nucleotide (e.g. A, T/U, C and G) carries a distinguishable acceptor fluorophore characteristic of the particular type of nucleotide. As the polymerase incorporates individual nucleic acid molecules into a complementary strand, a laser continuously irradiates the donor fluorophore, at a wavelength that causes it to emit an emission signal (but the laser wavelength does not stimulate the acceptor fluorophore). In particular embodiments, no laser is needed if the donor fluorophore is a luminescent molecule or is stimulated by one. The emission signal from the polymerase is capable of stimulating any of the donor fluorophores (but not acceptor fluorophores), so that as a nucleotide is added by the polymerase, the acceptor fluorophore emits a signal associated with the type of nucleotide added to the complementary strand. The series of emission signals from the acceptor fluorophores is detected, and correlated with a sequence of nucleotides that correspond to the sequence of emission signals.

A spectral imaging method for simultaneous detection of multiple fluorophores aimed at detecting and analyzing fluorescent in situ hybridizations employing numerous chromosome paints and/or loci specific probes each labeled with a different fluorophore or a combination of fluorophores for color karyotyping, and at multicolor chromosome banding, wherein each chromosome acquires a specifying banding pattern, which pattern is established using groups of chromosome fragments labeled with various fluorophore or combinations of fluorophores.

The present invention provides plasmonic crystals comprising three-dimensional and quasi comprising three-dimensional distributions of metallic or semiconducting films, including multi-layered crystal structures comprising nanostructured films and film arrays. Plasmonic crystals of the present invention include precisely registered and deterministically selected nonplanar crystal geometries and spatial distributions providing highly coupled, localized plasmonic responses in thin film elements and/or nanostructures of the crystal. Coupling of plasmonic responses provided by three-dimensional and quasi-three dimensional plasmonic crystal geometries and structures of the present invention generates enhanced local plasmonic field distributions useful for detecting small changes in the composition of an external dielectric environment proximate to a sensing surface of the plasmonic crystal. Plasmonic crystal structures of the present invention are also useful for providing highly localized excitation and/or imaging of fluorophores proximate to the crystal surface.

A biosensing device for detecting biological analytes, and methods of use and manufacture, are disclosed. The device includes a biosensing element that can remain implanted for extended periods of time. The biosensing element is connected to an optical fiber terminating outside of the body. The optical fiber is also connected to an information analyzer. The information analyzer directs light through the optical fiber into the biosensing element. The light excites fluorophores, created by a chemical reaction between analytes and biosensing material within the biosensing element. Emitted fluorescent light is redirected through the optical fiber to the information analyzer. Optical gratings within the filtering member of the information analyzer selectively deflect fluorescent emissions into a cladding layer. Detectors attached to the cladding layer detect the deflected fluorescent emissions and, according to their determined wavelength, report the presence or quantity of specific analytes to the patient on an external display.

A laser scanning microscope produces molecular excitation in a target material by simultaneous absorption of three or more photons to thereby provide intrinsic three-dimensional resolution. Fluorophores having single photon absorption in the short (ultraviolet or visible) wavelength range are excited by a beam of strongly focused subpicosecond pulses of laser light of relatively long (red or infrared) wavelength range. The fluorophores absorb at about one third, one fourth or even smaller fraction of the laser wavelength to produce fluorescent images of living cells and other microscopic objects. The fluorescent emission from the fluorophores increases cubicly, quarticly or even higher power law with the excitation intensity so that by focusing the laser light, fluorescence as well as photobleaching are confined to the vicinity of the focal plane. This feature provides depth of field resolution comparable to that produced by confocal laser scanning microscopes, and in addition reduces photobleaching and phototoxicity. Scanning of the laser beam by a laser scanning microscope, allows construction of images by collecting multi-photon excited fluorescence from each point in the scanned object while still satisfying the requirement for very high excitation intensity obtained by focusing the laser beam and by pulse time compressing the beam. The focused pulses also provide three-dimensional spatially resolved photochemistry which is particularly useful in photolytic release of caged effector molecules, marking a recording medium or in laser ablation or microsurgery. This invention refers explicitly to extensions of two-photon excitation where more than two photons are absorbed per excitation in this nonlinear microscopy.

The present invention provides clostridial toxin substrates useful in assaying for the protease activity of any clostridial toxin, including botulinum toxins of all serotypes as well as tetanus toxins. A clostridial toxin substrate of the invention contains a donor fluorophore; an acceptor having an absorbance spectrum overlapping the emission spectrum of the donor fluorophore; and a clostridial toxin recognition sequence that includes a cleavage site, where the cleavage site intervenes between the donor fluorophore and the acceptor and where, under the appropriate conditions, resonance energy transfer is exhibited between the donor fluorophore and the acceptor.

A color display comprising an image of all chromosomes or portions of chromosomes of a cell, each of the chromosomes or portions of chromosomes being painted with a different fluorophore or a combination of fluorophores, the image presenting the chromosomes or portions of chromosomes in different distinctive colors, wherein each of the chromosomes or portions of chromosomes is associated with one of the different distinctive colors.

Fluorescent biosensor molecules, fluorescent biosensors and systems, as well as methods of making and using these biosensor molecules and systems are described. Embodiments of these biosensor molecules exhibit fluorescence emission at wavelengths greater than about 650 nm. Typical biosensor molecules include a fluorophore that includes an iminium ion, a linker moiety that includes a group that is an anilinic type of relationship to the fluorophore and a boronate substrate recognition/binding moiety, which binds glucose. The fluorescence molecules modulated by the presence or absence of polyhydroxylated analytes such as glucose. This property of these molecules of the invention, as well as their ability to emit fluorescent light at greater than about 650 nm, renders these biosensor molecules particularly well-suited for detecting and measuring in-vivo glucose concentrations.

Binding assays for identifying ligands that modulate human T1R3 polypeptide-associated taste are disclosed. These assays detect the specific binding of compounds to a human T1R3 polypeptide or the modulation of the specific binding of another compound that specifically binds human T1R3 polypeptide. The binding assays may include the use of detectable labels, e.g., radionuclides, enzymes, fluorophores, and the like. Compounds identified in these binding assays have potential application as T1R3 taste modulators and therefore potentially are useful additives in compositions for human or animal consumption.

The present invention provides a technology called Pulse-Multiline Excitation or PME. This technology provides a novel approach to fluorescence detection with application for high-throughput identification of informative SNPs, which could lead to more accurate diagnosis of inherited disease, better prognosis of risk susceptibilities, or identification of sporadic mutations. The PME technology has two main advantages that significantly increase fluorescence sensitivity: (1) optimal excitation of all fluorophores in the genomic assay and (2) “color-blind” detection, which collects considerably more light than standard wavelength resolved detection. Successful implementation of the PME technology will have broad application for routine usage in clinical diagnostics, forensics, and general sequencing methodologies and will have the capability, flexibility, and portability of targeted sequence variation assays for a large majority of the population.

A method to detect the presence or amount of at least one molecule in a sample which employs a derivative of luciferin or a derivative of a fluorophore is provided.

Methods and materials for the imaging of cells containing active proteases such as cathepsin are disclosed. The present materials include activity based probes that bind to an enzyme and are subsequently cleaved. Cleavage results in a fluorescent signal due to removal of a quenching group which, when present on the probe causes altered or no fluorescence. The probes employ an acyloxymethyl ketone reactive group, one or more amino acids for determining specificity, a fluorophore and a quencher. The probes are cell permeable and may use, for example, a QSY7 (diarylyrhodamine) quencher and a BODIPY (bora-diaza-indecene) dye.

Disclosed is a microassay testing system, including a microfluidic cartridge and a compact microprocessor-controlled instrument for fluorometric assays in liquid samples, the cartridge having integrated process controls and positive and negative assay controls. The instrument has a scanning detector head incorporating multiple optical channels. In a preferred configuration, the assay is validated using dual channel optics for monitoring a first fluorophore associated with a target analyte and a second fluorophore associated with a process control. Integrated positive and negative assay controls provide enhanced assay validation capabilities and facilitate analysis of test results. Applications include molecular biological assays based on PCR amplification of target nucleic acids and fluorometric assays in general.