A biological indicator includes: a BI housing; a germinant container inside the BI housing and housing a germinant composition; a germinant releaser configured to release the germinant composition from the germinant container; a germinant releaser support supporting the germinant releaser and configured to bring the germinant releaser into contact with the germinant container upon application of a force to the germinant releaser support or the germinant container; a first spore carrier inside the BI housing, the first spore carrier having a plurality of spores deposited at a first surface thereof; and an imaging window at a first surface of the BI housing. A BI reader is configured to detect and quantify the presence of live spores in the BI, and includes an excitation source, a camera for capturing images of the spores over time, and a processor for analyzing the images to determine the presence of live spores.

The present disclosure is directed to a method of disturbance correction and to a laser scanning microscope carrying out this method. Specifically, it is directed to an image recording method according to the MINFLUX principle, in which a spatially isolated fluorescence dye molecule is illuminated at a sequence of scan positions by an intensity distribution with a local intensity minimum, and the number of fluorescence photons emitted by the fluorescence dye molecule is detected at each of the scan positions. The location of the molecule is determined with a high spatial resolution from the scan positions and the numbers of fluorescence photons. A disturbance is captured when illuminating the fluorescence dye molecule and detecting the fluorescence light, said disturbance being considered in corrective fashion when determining the location of the fluorescence dye molecule.

Seminaphthofluorophore-selenium probes are disclosed. The probes include a seminaphthofluorophore scaffold substituted with at least one diselenide moiety having a formula —Y—C(Q)O—(CH.sub.2).sub.m—Se—Se—(CH.sub.2).sub.n—OR.sup.f, where R.sup.f is hydrogen or C.sub.1-C.sub.3 alkyl, Q is O or S, Y is O or N(R.sup.g) where R.sup.g is H or alkyl, and m and n independently are integers. The probes may be used to detect presence of a thioredoxin reductase.

A microfluidic reaction chamber with a reaction chamber circuit includes a microfluidic reaction chamber to contain a reaction fluid for amplification of nucleic acids, and a reaction chamber circuit disposed within the microfluidic reaction chamber. The microfluidic reaction chamber includes a base wall, a top wall parallel to the base wall and defined in part by a transparent lid, a first side wall, and a second side wall. The reaction chamber circuit is disposed within the microfluidic reaction chamber, and includes a top surface, a bottom surface, a first side wall, and a second side wall. The reaction chamber circuit is in fluidic contact with the reaction fluid and includes a photodetector to detect a fluorescence signal from a labeled fluorescent tag in the reaction fluid.

The invention relates to a process and a device for analysing single molecules, particularly to the parallel analysis of a plurality of single molecules. It is suitable for detecting interactions, e.g. binding between single molecules and/or reactions, e.g. elongation or degradation of single molecules. Particularly, the process of the invention relates to the sequencing of single nucleic acid molecules. The single molecule to be analysed is present in free form, i.e. dissolved or suspended in a liquid medium, within a reaction space formed around the sample spot. According to the present invention, an electrical field is applied across the reaction space, whereby a concentration of single molecules, at the sample spots is effected.

The present invention relates to systems and methods for sequential operation of staining, imaging and sectioning of tissue samples by a processing system. After each layer of the sample is removed by the sectioning system, the system automatically stains the exposed surface of a sample to a depth to enable imaging of the remaining tissue. The system then repeats the sectioning, staining and imaging steps in sequence to image the sample.

A detection apparatus having a read head including a plurality of microfluorometers positioned to simultaneously acquire a plurality of the wide-field images in a common plane; and (b) a translation stage configured to move the read head along a substrate that is in the common plane. The substrate can be a flow cell that is included in a cartridge, the cartridge also including a housing for (i) a sample reservoir; (ii) a fluidic line between the sample reservoir and the flow cell; (iii) several reagent reservoirs in fluid communication with the flow cell, (iv) at least one valve configured to mediate fluid communication between the reservoirs and the flow cell; and (v) at least one pressure source configured to move liquids from the reservoirs to the flow cell. The detection apparatus and cartridge can be used together or independent of each other.

Provided herein are systems and methods for characterizing target/ligand engagement. In particular, luciferase-labeled polypeptide targets are used to detect or quantify target/ligand engagement (e.g., within a cell or cell lysate).

A molecular detection apparatus of an embodiment includes: a first detector which includes a first sensor containing a MOF having a fluorescence emitting property, a light source which irradiates the MOF with light, and a light receiver which receives fluorescence from the MOF; a second detector which includes a sensor layer electrodes electrically connected with the sensor layer; and a type discrimination and concentration calculation part which discriminates a type of the molecules to be detected based on a measurement result measured by the first detector, and calculates a concentration of the molecules a measurement result measured by the second detector based on a discrimination result of a type of the molecules.

One non-limiting and exemplary embodiment provides a metal microscopic structure capable of detecting a low-concentration analyte with high sensitivity. The metal microscopic structure includes a base member including multiple protrusions arrayed at predetermined intervals, and multiple projections made of a metal film covering the base member and configured to generate surface plasmons upon irradiation with light. A film thickness of the metal film positioned in a bottom portion of a gap between every adjacent two of the multiple projections is greater than a height of the multiple protrusions and is more than or equal to 90% and less than or equal to 100% of a film thickness of the metal film deposited on top portions of the multiple protrusions.