M Squared -THz spectroscopy in Biomolecular Analysis.

http://www.m2lasers.com/news-events/blog/2012/9/6/terahertz-spectroscopy-in-biomolecular-analysis.aspx

'Its only September but we're starting to think ahead to Photonics West 2013 (Feb 2-5 at Moscone Center in San Francisco - currently our booth allocation is 2517 South Hall). We're excited about our new exhibition booth which will have its first outing at the event, and also about some of the activity that's already starting to take shape. For example, we're sponsoring a THz imaging seminar at BiOS - part of SPIE Photonics West 2013,  BiOS is a global forum on the frontier of biomedical imaging, biophotonics, optical microscopy, optogenetics and, generally, the intersection of optics, photonics and molecular biology, diagnostics and therapeutics. 

 Sponsoring the event at BiOS sits well with some other research we're involved in at Strathclyde University in Scotland. Together with the University itself, the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA) and the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance (SULSA) we have been funding work on the use of terahertz spectroscopy in bimolecular analysis.

 Terahertz radiation is part of the electromagnetic spectrum and sits between the far-infrared and the microwave bands at approximately 0.1-20 THz.  As it lies between the infrared and the microwave parts of the spectrum, terahertz shares some of their features such as microwaves' ability to pass through non-conducting materials such as masonry and clothing (but it can't pass through water or water vapour). This makes it very useful in imaging / scanning applications such as providing "eyes" for helicopter pilots landing and taking off in clouds of dust. 

 

It has applications in medical imaging because, while it can penetrate living tissue like an X-ray, the photon energy is much lower and so much less damaging. The work we are supporting at Strathclyde University makes use of the potential of low frequency terahertz radiation to detect intermolecular interactions including van der Waals forces and hydrogen bonding (in turn because organic molecules exhibit low frequency vibrational modes deriving from interactions among bonded atoms inside molecules). Applications investigated include analysis of DNA, amino acids and peptides. THz spectra have been obtained for complex molecules such as both double and single-stranded DNA. Clear spectra were also obtained for single amino acids but the increasing complexity of peptides masked a clear signal in the range the team investigated. 

Keep an eye on our website for the forthcoming publication of the new datasheet for the Firefly-THz, our tuneable, maintenance free, hands free, ultra compact terahertz source which is used in engineering inspection, security, and biomedical applications.