Described herein are suspensions of helical polycarbodiimide polymers that ‘cloak’ nanotubes, thereby effecting control over nanotube emission, providing a new mechanism of environmental responsivity, and enabling precise control over sub-cellular localization. The helical polycarbodiimide polymers described herein are water soluble, easily modifiable, and have unique architectures that facilitate their application in radiopharmaceutical delivery and imaging methods, in therapeutics and therapeutic delivery methods, and their use as sensors—both in conjunction with carbon nanotubes, and without nanotubes.

The present disclosure provides organic-inorganic hybrid polymer particles, which have desirable surface chemistry and optical properties that make them particularly suitable for biological and optical applications. The present disclosure also provides methods of making organic-inorganic hybrid polymer particles. The present disclosure also provides methods of using the organic-inorganic hybrid polymer particles for biological and optical applications.

The present invention provides an analyte detection system for detecting target analytes in a sample. In particular, the invention provides a detection system in a rotor or disc format that utilizes a centrifugal force to move the sample through the detection system. Methods of using the rotor detection system to detect analytes in samples, particularly biological samples, and kits comprising the rotor detection system are also disclosed.

The present invention pertains generally to the detection of molecules. In some embodiments, it pertains to the determination of molecules, qualitatively and/or quantitatively, using the assembly of nanoparticles into superstructures, e.g., with a predefined shape. In some embodiments, a sample comprising a target molecule to be determined, such as DNA, is exposed to a first nanostructure and a second nanostructure, which may be formed from one or more nanoparticles. In the presence of the target molecule, the first nanostructure and the second nanostructure may assemble, e.g., spontaneously, to form a molecule superstructure. In some cases, the molecular superstructures can be identified by some combination of optical microscopy and automated image processing. In other cases, the molecular superstructure is able to scatter or diffract light, such as visible or ultraviolet light. For example, in the presence of a target molecule, the superstructure may comprise a plurality of nanostructures in regular dynamic spacing, which may scatter or diffract light. By determining such light, the target molecule within the sample may be determined. Other embodiments are generally directed to such molecular superstructures, techniques for making or using such molecular superstructures, devices incorporating such molecular superstructures, or the like.

An image processing device includes an inputter, a hardware processor, and a storage. The inputter is to input a morphological image, and a plurality of fluorescent images which having focal planes different at a predetermined interval in a height direction of the tissue sample in a same range as the morphological image and representing expression of the biological substance in the tissue sample with a fluorescent bright spot. The hardware processor extracts a cell region, specifies a focal plane most in focus as an in-focus plane for each cell region, specifies a coordinate in the in-focus plane of the cell region, extracts a fluorescent bright spot region from a fluorescent image in a focal plane corresponding to the in-focus plane, and calculates a luminance value or a number of the fluorescent nanoparticle in the fluorescent bright spot region. The storage stores the in-focus plane and the coordinate.

The invention features compositions and methods related to the detection and molecular profiling of membrane bound vesicles using the Raman Extracellular Vesicle Assay (REVA). The method makes use of highly sensitive and specific surface enhanced Raman scattering technology to label and detect membrane bound vesicles that are captured on a miniaturized device based on the protein expression on the surface of the membrane bound vesicle.

A method of distinguishing cancerous cells and healthy cells of a subject from each other comprises the steps: (i) contacting a region of tissue of a subject suspected of including at least some cancer cells with a plurality of nanodiamonds, wherein the plurality of nanodiamonds comprise a first plurality of conjugates, wherein the conjugates of the first plurality of conjugates consist of first nanodiamonds and one or more cancer cell targeting agents, wherein the first nanodiamonds have a first type of colour center, and a second plurality of conjugates, wherein the conjugates of the second plurality of conjugates consist of second nanodiamonds and one or more healthy cell targeting agents, wherein the second nanodiamonds have a second type of colour center; and (ii) applying light of a first wavelength so as to excite the first type of colour center and applying light of a second wavelength so as to excite the second type of colour center, wherein upon contacting the region of tissue with the plurality of nanodiamonds, cancer cells are adhered to the first plurality of conjugates, and healthy cells are adhered to the second plurality of conjugates; wherein upon applying light to the region of tissue, the colour centers of the nanodiamonds of the first plurality of conjugates adhered to cancer cells emit fluorescence at a first wavelength, and the colour centers of the nanodiamonds of the second plurality of conjugates adhered to healthy cells emit fluorescence at a second wavelength; and wherein the colour contrast between the two wavelengths and the positions of respective conjugates delineate the area of cancer cells and the area of healthy cells from each other.

Disclosed is a novel composition of matter that provides highly efficient energy conversion from NIR to NIR wavelengths, with either up-, down-, or both up- and down-converting transitions. Disclosed is a composition having the molecular formula NaYF.sub.4:Yb.sub.xTm.sub.yNd.sub.z, where 0≤x≤0.98, 0≤y≤0.02, and 0≤z≤0.06. Also disclosed is a core-shell structure, wherein the core is a composition having the molecular formula NaYF.sub.4:Yb.sub.xTm.sub.yNd.sub.z, where 0≤x≤0.98, 0≤y≤0.02, and 0≤z≤0.06, and the shell is composition having the molecular formula NaYF.sub.4:Nd.sub.w, where 0≤w≤0.1.

Disclosed are a nanostructure including a nanoparticle, and a first compound including a probe and bound to the surface of the nanoparticle, a second compound including a DNA sequence encoding the probe and bound to the surface of the nanoparticle, and optionally substituted or unsubstituted polyalkylene glycol bound to the surface of the nanoparticle, wherein when the nanostructure does not include substituted or unsubstituted polyalkylene glycol bound to the surface of the nanoparticle, a ratio ((n.sup.1+n.sup.2)/w) of the sum of the number of moles (n.sup.1) of the first compound and the number of moles (n.sup.2) of the second compound relative to the weight (w) of the nanostructure is about 1.2 nmol/g to about 85 μmol/g on average, a biosensor including the nanostructure, and a method of screening a biological material using the nanostructure or the biosensor.

Methods for isolating proteins from a honey sample are provided. The methods include contacting the honey sample with a substrate functionalized with one or more reactive dyes and recovering proteins associated with the substrate. Methods for detecting proteins in a honey sample and assessing the risk of colony collapse disorder are also provided.