The present invention relates to vitro method for analysing a liquid sample as to the presence, identity and properties of microbes comprising: a) isolating microbes from the liquid sample; b) analysing said microbes spectroscopically by means of spontaneous Raman spectroscopy; and c) determining antibiotic susceptibility of said microbes spectroscopically by means of spontaneous Raman spectroscopy. The present invention also refers to device for analysing a liquid sample as to the presence, identity and properties of microbes, wherein the device comprises as a first unit (i) a chip comprising a filtering unit and an antibiotics exposure unit capable of determining the susceptibility of microbes to an antibiotic; as a second unit (ii) a Raman spectroscopy system; and as a third unit (iii) an evaluation module which is coupled to the Raman spectroscopy system.

A process for determining the fludioxonil content in a liquid medium by performing a color reaction with [4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]methanol (p-DAB) or 4-Dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde (DMACA) and an acid in the presence of fludioxonil and obtaining a colorimetric reading for the resulting mixture after a period of time

A method for measuring phototoxicity or photoallergy includes reacting a test substance with an organic compound that is an N-(arylalkylcarbonyl)cysteine or an α-N-(arylalkylcarbonyl)lysine under irradiation with ultraviolet light; reacting the test substance with the organic compound without irradiation with ultraviolet light; determining the depletion of the organic compound after each reaction by an optical measurement; and detecting phototoxicity or photoallergy from the difference between the depletion of the organic compound after the reaction under irradiation with ultraviolet light and the depletion of the organic compound after the reaction without irradiation with ultraviolet light.

A method for assessing an effect of hypoxia on a tissue includes providing a sample of the tissue in a hermetically sealed container, determining a first amount of a reaction substrate (e.g., protocatechuic acid) to be introduced into the sealed container and determining a second amount of a reaction enzyme (e.g., protocatechuate dioxygenase) to be introduced into the sealed container. The method further includes introducing the reaction substrate and the reaction enzyme into the sealed container. At least one of the first amount of the reaction substrate and the second amount of the reaction enzyme is selected to induce at least one of a predetermined amount of hypoxia less than anoxia and a predetermined rate of hypoxia in the tissue during a reaction between the reaction substrate and the reaction enzyme. Values of properties of the tissue can be measured before and after the reaction to assess effects of hypoxia.

A fluorescent in-situ hybridization imaging and analysis system includes a flow cell to contain a sample to be exposed to fluorescent probes in a reagent, a fluorescence microscope to obtain sequentially collect a plurality of images of the sample at a plurality of different combinations of imaging parameters, and a data processing system. The data processing system includes an online pre-processing system configured to sequentially receive the images from the fluorescence microscope as the images are collected and perform on-the-fly image pre-processing to remove experimental artifacts of the image and to provide RNA image spot sharpening, and an offline processing system configured to, after the plurality of images are collected, perform registration of images having a same field of view and to decode intensity values in the plurality of images to identify expressed genes.

The invention relates to a colorimetric gas detector for determining and monitoring gaseous substances. The colorimetric gas detector can be used in any application requiring the detection of substances in a gaseous environment. The colorimetric gas detector has a photodetector, a light source positioned opposite to the photodetector, and a receiving slot for positioning a colorimetric media between the camera and the light source.

Multi-stage sample-recovery systems, including automated 2-stage and 3-stage sample-recovery systems, are provided. Such systems enable the rapid screening and recovery of samples, including viable cell-based samples, from high-throughput screening systems, including systems utilizing large-scale arrays of microcapillaries. In specific screening systems, each microcapillary comprises a solution containing a variant protein, an immobilized target molecule, and a reporter element. Immobilized target molecules may include any molecule of interest, including proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and other biomolecules. The association of a variant protein with a molecular target is assessed by measuring a signal from the reporter element. The contents of microcapillaries identified in the assays as containing variant proteins of interest can be identified and recovered using the multi-stage systems disclosed herein.

A method for assessing an effect of hypoxia on a tissue includes providing a sample of the tissue in a hermetically sealed container, determining a first amount of a reaction substrate (e.g., protocatechuic acid) to be introduced into the sealed container and determining a second amount of a reaction enzyme (e.g., protocatechuate dioxygenase) to be introduced into the sealed container. The method further includes introducing the reaction substrate and the reaction enzyme into the sealed container. At least one of the first amount of the reaction substrate and the second amount of the reaction enzyme is selected to induce at least one of a predetermined amount of hypoxia less than anoxia and a predetermined rate of hypoxia in the tissue during a reaction between the reaction substrate and the reaction enzyme. Values of properties of the tissue can be measured before and after the reaction to assess effects of hypoxia.

A fluorescent in-situ hybridization imaging system includes a flow cell to contain a sample, a fluorescence microscope, and a control system. The fluorescence microscope includes a variable frequency excitation light source to illuminate the sample, a plurality of emission bandpass filters on a filter wheel, an actuator to rotate the filter wheel, and a camera positioned to receive fluorescently emitted light from the sample. The control system is configured to cause the variable frequency excitation light source to emit a light beam having a selected wavelength, cause the actuator to rotate the filter wheel to position a selected filter in a light path between the sample and the camera, obtain an image from the camera, and coordinate the variable frequency excitation light source and filter wheel such that the selected filter has an emission bandpass associated with emission by the fluorescent probes when excited by the selected wavelength.

A method for determining whether a testing specimen is supplied to a testing system, which includes a reaction tank in which the testing specimen reacts; a light source for emitting testing light into the reaction tank from one side of the reaction tank; and a photoelectric sensor that is placed on the side of the reaction tank opposite to the light source for receiving the testing light traveled through the reaction tank and that converts the received testing light into an electrical signal. The amount of the testing specimen to be added into the reaction tank is set so that the level of the testing specimen is above the light path of the testing light while the reaction tank is cleaned. Whether the testing specimen is supplied is determined based on the presence of change of the electrical signal output from the photoelectric sensor.