A synthetic hydrogel is described, including hydrated mucin glycoproteins cross-linked with multi-arm thiol functional cross-linker, which can be prepared to model viscoelastic and micro-rheological properties of natural mucus. Such synthetic hydrogel can be prepared from a wide variety of mucin raw materials. Also described is a method of microrheologically characterizing mucus, by dispersing in the mucus muco-inert particles (MIP), irradiating the mucus containing MIP with polarized light, and measuring fluorescence polarization (FP) resulting from rotational diffusion of the MIP in the mucus in response to such irradiating, as a microrheological characteristic of the mucus. This method can be carried out using a plate reader equipped with a spectrofluorometer and polarized filter set, and therefore can be readily carried out in clinical settings without the necessity of specialized microrheological equipment.

A photonic system and a method for analysing target molecules that emit radiation upon being exposed to excitation radiation includes a radiation source configured to provide excitation radiation with a predetermined polarization state, and a photonics chip that includes an analysis region for exposing target molecules to radiation from the radiation source, so that target molecules with a dipole component along the direction of polarization of the excitation radiation emit radiation with an angular profile. A waveguide structure captures radiation emitted from the analysis region by target molecules. The waveguide structure is configured to extract the emitted radiation in different positions in accordance with the angular profile of the emitted radiation for sampling the angular profile.

A semiconductor defect inspection apparatus for inspecting a specimen including a semiconductor substrate having a surface on which a predetermined pattern is formed, includes an excitation light irradiator, a polarization converter, a detector, and a defect analysis detector. The excitation light irradiator irradiates the specimen with excitation light along an optical path from the irradiator to the specimen and such that the excitation light is obliquely incident at a predetermined incident angle. The first polarization converter is disposed in the optical path, and converts the excitation light into s-polarized light. The detector detects photoluminescence light generated from the specimen when the excitation light is incident on the specimen. The defect analysis detector detects a dislocation defect by analyzing a photoluminescence image obtained by photoelectrically converting the photoluminescence light.

In an exemplary method, a sample is provided. The sample contains a polymerase molecule, a receptor molecule containing a fluorophore, and a detector molecule. The detector molecule is configured to, in the presence of a target nucleic acid, inhibit the polymerase molecule from cleaving the fluorophore. A level of fluorescence anisotropy from the sample is detected to determine the absence or presence of the target nucleic acid in the sample.

A semiconductor defect inspection apparatus for inspecting a specimen including a semiconductor substrate having a surface on which a predetermined pattern is formed, includes an excitation light irradiator, a polarization converter, a detector, and a defect analysis detector. The excitation light irradiator irradiates the specimen with excitation light along an optical path from the irradiator to the specimen and such that the excitation light is obliquely incident at a predetermined incident angle. The first polarization converter is disposed in the optical path, and converts the excitation light into s-polarized light. The detector detects photoluminescence light generated from the specimen when the excitation light is incident on the specimen. The defect analysis detector detects a dislocation defect by analyzing a photoluminescence image obtained by photoelectrically converting the photoluminescence light.

Systems and methods for three-dimensional fluorescence polarization excitation that generates maps of positions and orientation of fluorescent molecules in three or more dimensions are disclosed.

Continuous monitoring of blood cultures using pH- (or CO.sub.2) based detection platforms is the current clinical gold standard. Despite the ubiquity of these systems in state-of-the-art clinical microbiology laboratories, they offer slow times-to-result (TTR) because microorganism detection typically requires >10.sup.9 colony forming units (CFU) to be present whereas only 1-1000 CFU are typically present in septic patient blood samples. These TTRs are further lengthened for samples collected from spoke sites in consolidated hub-and-spoke laboratory models, an increasingly common model for integrated hospital networks and reference laboratories, because sample transport time, typically >4 hours, is lost. Here we introduce new methods that allow microorganisms to be detected at <10.sup.5 CFU and that enable sample incubation during courier transport from spoke collection sites to the central laboratory hub.

A non-invasive measurement of biological tissue reveals information about the function of that tissue. Polarized light is directed onto the tissue, stimulating the emission of fluorescence, due to one or more endogenous fluorophors in the tissue. Fluorescence anisotropy is then calculated. Such measurements of fluorescence anisotropy are then used to assess the functional status of the tissue, and to identify the existence and severity of disease states. Such assessment can be made by comparing a fluorescence anisotropy profile with a known profile of a control.

Disclosed is a lithography process on a sample with at least one emitter, the process including: putting at least one layer of resist above the sample; exciting one selected emitter with light through the at least one layer of resist; detecting light emitted by the excited selected emitter and determining a position of the selected emitter; and curing with a light beam a part of the at least one layer of resist above the position of the selected emitter, the light beam being a shaped light beam having a cross-section, this cross-section having a central part, an intermediate part surrounding the central part and a border part surrounding the intermediate part, the intensity of the shaped light beam on the at least one layer of resist reaching a maximum at the intermediate part.

A distance measuring method and an electronic laser distance measuring module, for determining a distance to a target object, wherein the transmitted signal is emitted with selected polarization states by a transmitting unit of the laser distance measuring module. The transmitted signal is emitted and the received signal is acquired such that a polarization identifier of the polarization state of the transmitted signal adheres to the received signal and an evaluation of the received signal is derived based on the polarization identifier, to take into consideration multiple reflections during the processing of the received signal to determine the distance.