An apparatus for detecting an emission signal from each of a plurality of emission signal sources includes one or more excitation sources configured to generate an excitation light of an excitation wavelength and one or more associated emission detectors configured to detect light of an emission wavelength. A transmission fiber is associated with each of the emission signal sources. A carrier is configured to move the one or more excitation sources and the one or more emission detectors relative to the transmission fibers to sequentially place each emission detector and associated excitation source in an operative position with respect to each transmission fiber. Each transmission fiber transmits both the excitation light from the excitation source and the corresponding emission light to the associated emission detector.

As a standard solution for evaluating a scattered light measuring optical system mounted on an automated analyzer, a standard solution containing an insoluble carrier at a concentration, at which transmittance is in a range of 10% to 50%, is used, and a light quantity of a light source is adjusted such that a scattered light detector outputs a predetermined value.

A biological sensing apparatus includes an optical waveguide substrate, a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) layer, and a lossy mode resonance (LMR) layer. The optical waveguide substrate includes a light input end and a light output end opposite to each other, and a biological sensing area is formed on one surface of the optical waveguide substrate between the light input end and the light output end. The SPR layer includes a metal layer and a plurality of biological probes. The metal layer is arranged on part of the biological sensing area, and the plurality of biological probes are evenly arranged on the metal layer. The LMR layer is arranged on part of the biological sensing area, and the LMR layer and the SPR layer are not overlapped. The present disclosure further includes a biological sensing system and a method of using the same.

Method for sorting corn kernels of a batch of corn kernels, the method comprising the steps of: laying the corn kernel on a support surface, the corn kernel having a resting surface in contact with the support surface, and an upper surface opposite the resting surface, acquiring at least one orientation image of the corn kernel with an orientation imaging system, the orientation imaging system having a modality adapted to enable structural features of the corn kernel to be measured, determining an orientation of the corn kernel with respect to the support surface based on the structural features of the corn kernel measured on the orientation image, sorting the corn kernel as a function of the orientation.

Method for sorting corn kernels of a batch of corn kernels, the method comprising the steps of: laying the corn kernel on a support surface, the corn kernel having a resting surface in contact with the support surface, and an upper surface opposite the resting surface, acquiring at least one orientation image of the corn kernel with an orientation imaging system, the orientation imaging system having a modality adapted to enable structural features of the corn kernel to be measured, determining an orientation of the corn kernel with respect to the support surface based on the structural features of the corn kernel measured on the orientation image, sorting the corn kernel as a function of the orientation.

A method for preparing fluorescent-encoded microspheres coated with metal nanoshells is disclosed herein. By using SPG method, metal nano-material modified with a certain ligand is used as a new surfactant in the emulsification process, and different kinds and different amounts of fluorescent materials are doped into polymer microspheres to prepare fluorescent-encoded microspheres with different fluorescent-encoded signals and uniformly coated metal nanoshells in one step. The prepared fluorescent-encoded microsphere comprises a metal nanoshell, a polymer, and a fluorescent-encoded material. The fluorescent-encoded microsphere has a particle size of 1 μm˜20 μm, CV of less than 10%, which can be used for protein/nucleic acid detection. The preparation method has the advantages of simple process, high surface coating rate, good uniformity and controllable LSPR peaks, which can solve the problems of existing commonly used metal nanoshell coating methods such as low surface coating rate, poor uniformity, complex preparation process and uncontrollable local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peaks, etc.

A method for preparing fluorescent-encoded microspheres coated with metal nanoshells is disclosed herein. By using SPG method, metal nano-material modified with a certain ligand is used as a new surfactant in the emulsification process, and different kinds and different amounts of fluorescent materials are doped into polymer microspheres to prepare fluorescent-encoded microspheres with different fluorescent-encoded signals and uniformly coated metal nanoshells in one step. The prepared fluorescent-encoded microsphere comprises a metal nanoshell, a polymer, and a fluorescent-encoded material. The fluorescent-encoded microsphere has a particle size of 1 μm˜20 μm, CV of less than 10%, which can be used for protein/nucleic acid detection. The preparation method has the advantages of simple process, high surface coating rate, good uniformity and controllable LSPR peaks, which can solve the problems of existing commonly used metal nanoshell coating methods such as low surface coating rate, poor uniformity, complex preparation process and uncontrollable local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peaks, etc.

A colorimetric sensor array includes a CMOS image sensor having a surface including pixels and a multiplicity of colorimetric sensing elements. Each sensing element has a sensing material disposed directly on one or more of the pixels. The colorimetric sensing elements are distributed randomly on the surface of the CMOS image sensor. Fabricating the colorimetric sensor array includes spraying a sensing fluid in the form of droplets directly on a surface of a CMOS image sensor and removing the solvent from the droplets to yield a multiplicity of sensing elements on the surface of the CMOS image sensor. Each droplet covers one or more pixels of the CMOS image sensor with the sensing fluid. The sensing fluid includes a solvent and a sensing material. The droplets are distributed randomly on the surface of the CMOS image sensor.

A non-linear optical pumping detection apparatus and a non-linear optical absorption cross-section measurement method, which can simultaneously measure degenerate and non-degenerate two-photon absorption cross-section spectra. The measurement process is automatic, efficient and fast. The working wavelength band is from 380 nm to near infrared 1064 nm, and the non-linear performance measurement of the super-continuous wide spectra can be realized. A zoom optical system with a larger entrance pupil diameter is adopted as a weak signal acquisition lens. So the weak signal can be effectively extracted from background noise. Meanwhile, the mean square root diameter of an on-axis image point of the zoom optical system is 100 to 150 microns, the divergence angle 2α of the on-axis image point is 30.6 degrees, which well match the optical fiber coupling condition, thereby improving the coupling efficiency of the space light coupling into the optical fiber, and greatly improving the measurement sensitivity.

When a measurement sample whose absorbance greatly changes depending on a wavelength range is measured, measurement with a high S/N ratio and accuracy can be efficiently performed in a short time.

For a plurality of wavelength ranges in wavelength scanning measurement of a measurement sample, based on measurement conditions including one of a plurality of dimming plates (16a to 16e) to be disposed in each wavelength range and a scanning speed of a wavelength to be set in each wavelength range, when wavelength scanning measurement in which the entire measurement wavelength range including all of the plurality of wavelength ranges is scanned at once is performed, a spectrophotometer (100) changes one of the plurality of dimming plates (16a to 16e) and the scanning speed according to the measurement conditions for each wavelength range.