A microbial particle measuring apparatus includes: a light emitter configured to irradiate a fluid with light of a predetermined wavelength over a predetermined measurement time; a fluorescence receiver configured to selectively receive fluorescence emitted from particles contained in the fluid and output a signal having a magnitude corresponding to intensity of the fluorescence; a signal acquisition unit configured to obtain the signal output from the fluorescence receiver at regular intervals over the measurement time; and a determiner configured to calculate a slope of waveform of the signal obtained by the signal acquisition unit, and determine a concentration of microbial particles contained in the fluid using an attenuation amount of fluorescence intensity generated in a time period in which the slope in the measurement time is smaller than a predetermined value as an amount of attenuation derived from the microbial particles.

A method for detecting nano- and micro-plastics in an aqueous sample suspected of being polluted with nano- or micro-plastics is provided. The method is based on interaction of the nano- and micro-plastics with hyaluronic acid functionalized with a luminescent or fluorescent dye. The luminescent or fluorescent dye is Rhodamine B or the metallorganic complex Ru(bpy).sub.3.sup.2+.

In a sensor unit, a sensor element having an optical behavior that depends on at least one analyte is in diffusive contact with an auxiliary medium, which is present in a reservoir in the sensor unit, via a membrane. The reservoir and the membrane, on the one hand, and sensor element, on the other hand, can be removed from one another in order to place the sensor unit in a measurement state. The auxiliary medium can serve to wet the sensor element during storage of the sensor unit or also for calibrating the sensor element.

A processor for demixing a fluorescent-light input signal of a fluorescence microscope, the fluorescent-light input signal including at least two fluorescence emission responses that overlap in time, each of the at least two fluorescence emission responses being representative of an individual impulse response of a fluorophore to a fluorescence-triggering light pulse of a clocked time series of fluorescence-triggering light pulses, the processor: receiving a trigger signal comprising a time series of time markers, the trigger signal being representative of a clocking rate, at which the clocked time series of fluorescence-triggering light pulses is generated; and separating at least one fluorescence emission response from the fluorescent-light input signal.

Systems and methods for identifying a current reprogramming status and for predicting a future reprogramming status for reprogramming intermediate cells (i.e., somatic cells undergoing reprogramming) are provided. Label-free autofluorescence measurements are combined with machine learning techniques to provide highly accurate identification of current reprogramming status and prediction of future reprogramming status. The identification of current reprogramming status utilizes metabolic endpoints from the autofluorescence data set. The prediction of future reprogramming status utilizes a pseudotime line constructed from autofluorescence data of reprogramming intermediate cells having a known reprogramming status.

A method for determining the susceptibility of a bacteria to an antibiotic, comprising transferring one portion of a sample containing living bacterial cells into a bacterial growth medium to create a control sample; transferring another portion of the sample into a bacterial growth medium to which a predetermined amount of antibiotic or predetermined amount of a library of antibiotics has been added to create a test sample; adding an alkyne-modified non-canonical amino acid to both the control sample and test sample during bacterial growth, wherein the alkyne-modified non-canonical amino acid incorporates into surface proteins, internal proteins, or both; reacting the alkyne-containing proteins with an azide-modified detection molecule using click-chemistry to label the cells; detecting the labeled cells using a method that generates a detectable signal; and comparing the signal generated by the control sample to the signal generated by the test sample, wherein a decrease in detectable signal between the control sample and the test sample is indicative of susceptibility of the living bacteria to the predetermined antibiotic or predetermined library of antibiotics.

A time-resolved fluorescence and chromogenic dual-signal test strip for estrogen is based on the principle of immune recognition and fluorescence resonance energy transfer. In time-resolved fluorescence mode, estrogen-BSA-persistent luminescence particle complex is the fluorescence donor, and colloidal gold modified with estrogen monoclonal antibody is the fluorescence receptor, which is also chromogenic signal unit in the chromogenic mode. The photos of strips in both modes are obtained with smart phones. The time-resolved fluorescence intensity of the test strip test zone is positively correlated with estrogen content, and the chromogenic intensity is negatively correlated with estrogen content. The competitive time-resolved fluorescence and chromogenic dual-signal immunochromatographic test strips can accurately and quickly detect estrogen and estrogen-like compounds.

Provided herein are devices, systems, and methods for characterizing a biological sample in vivo or ex vivo in real-time using time-resolved spectroscopy. A light source generates a light pulse or continuous light wave and excites the biological sample, inducing a responsive fluorescent signal. A demultiplexer splits the signal into spectral bands and a time delay is applied to the spectral bands so as to capture data with a detector from multiple spectral bands from a single excitation pulse. The biological sample is characterized by analyzing the fluorescence intensity magnitude and/or decay of the spectral bands. The sample may comprise one or more exogenous or endogenous fluorophore. The device may be a two-piece probe with a detachable, disposable distal end. The systems may combine fluorescence spectroscopy with other optical spectroscopy or imaging modalities. The light pulse may be focused at a single focal point or scanned or patterned across an area.

A device for detecting a presence or concentration of an analyte on an egg shell or in an egg, the device comprising an emitter, wherein the emitter is configured to emit light into the egg, a detector, wherein the detector is configured to receive light emitted from an indicator molecule within the egg, a controller configured to analyze a change in a detectable quality of the indicator molecule based on the presence or concentration of the analyte.

Microscopy methods for determining embryo viability are described. A method can include accessing, at a compute device, fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) data set associated with a biological material. The biological material can include either an embryo or a gamete. The method further includes extracting a fluorescence photon arrival time from a subset of data from the FLIM data set. The method further includes estimating a likelihood that the biological material will produce a successful pregnancy and/or a live birth based on the fluorescence photon arrival time histogram and an estimation model that has been trained using artificial intelligence and labeled clinical training data. The method includes generating an output signal representing the estimated likelihood that the biological material will produce a successful pregnancy and/or a live birth. In some embodiments, the method can include training the estimation model using a plurality of fluorescence photon arrival time histograms of the FLIM data set.