PHOTOACOUSTIC VISCOELASTICITY IMAGING OF BIOLOGICAL TISSUES WITH INTENSITY-MODULATED CONTINUOUS-WAVE LASER

In this paper,a novel photoacoustic viscoelasticity imaging(PAVEI)technique that provides viscoelastic infornation of biological tissues is presented.We deduced the proocess of photoacoustic(PA)ffct on the basis of thermal viscoelasticity theory and est ablished the relationship between the PA phase delay and the vicoelasticity for soft solids.By detecting the phase delay of PA signal,the viscoelasticity distribution of absorbers can be mapped.Gelatin phantoms with diferent densities and different absorption cofficients were used to verify the dependence of PA VEI measurements.Moreover,tissue mimicking phantoms mixed with fat and collagen at different concentrations were used to testify the feasibility of this technique with reli able contrast.Finally,the PAVEI was sucossfully applied to discrimination between biological tissue constituents.Our experimental results demonstrate that this novel technique has the potential for visualizing the anatomical and biomechanical properties of biological tissues.

Generation of high-energy dual-wavelength domain wall pulse with low repetition rate in an HNLF-based fiber ring laser

The generation of high-energy dual-wavelength domain wall pulse with a low repetition rate is demonstrated in a highly nonlinear fiber （HNLF）-based fiber ring laser. By introducing the intracavity birefringence-induced spectral filtering effect, the dual-wavelength lasing operation can be achieved. In order to enhance the cross coupling effect between the two lasing beams for domain wall pulse formation, a 215-m HNLF is incorporated into the laser cavity. Experimentally, it is found that the dual-wavelength domain wall pulse with a repetition rate of 77.67 kHz could be efficiently obtained through simply rotating the polarization controller （PC）. At a maximum pump power of 322 mW, the 655-nJ single pulse energy in cavity is obtained. The proposed configuration provides a simpler and more efficient way to generate high energy pulse with a low repetition rate.

Fast Microwave-Induced Thermoacoustic Tomography Based on Multi-Element Phase-Controlled Focus Technique

We develop a fast microwave-induced thermoacoustic tomography system based on a 320-element phase-controlled focus linear transducer array. A 1.2-GHz microwave generator transmits microwave with a pulse width of 0.5 μs and an incident energy density of 0. 45 mJ/cm^2, and the microwave energy is delivered by a rectangular waveguide with a cross section of （80.01 ± 0.02） × 10^-4 m^2. Compared to single transducer collection, the system with the multi-element linear transducer array can eliminate the mechanical rotation of the transducer, hence can effectively reduce the image blurring and improve the image resolution. Using a phase-controlled focus technique to collect thermoacoustic signals, the data need not be averaged because of a high signal-to-noise ratio, resulting in a total data acquisition time of less than 5 s. The system thus provides a rapid and reliable approach to thermoacoustic imaging, which can potentially be developed as a powerful diagnostic tool for early-stage breast caners.

EFFECTS OF METAL IONS ON THE CONFORMATIONAL CHANGES OF DNA

DNA takes on multi-different conformations such as A-, B-, C-, D- and Z-form. These conformations can transit to one another when DNA deposited in some metal ions solutions or when changing the concentrations of the same metal ions. Here, several major conformational transitions of DNA induced by metal ions under different environment were introduced and the mechanism of the interaction of metal ions with DNA was discuss in detail.

A review of microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging:Excitation source,data acquisition system and biomedical applications

Microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging(TAI)is a noninvasive modality based on the differences in microwave absorption of various biological tissues.TAI has been extensively researched in recent years,and several studies have revealed that TAI possesses advantages such as high resolution,high contrast,high imaging depth and fast imaging speed.In this paper,we reviewed the development of the TAI technique,its excitation source,data acquisition system and biomedical applications.It is believed that TAI has great potential applications in biomedical research and clinical study.

All-optically integrated photoacoustic and optical coherence tomography:A review

All-optically integrated photoacoustic(PA)and optical coherence tomography(OCT)dualmode imaging technology that could o®er comprehensive pathological information for accurate diagnosis in clinic has gradually become a promising imaging technology in the aspect of biomedical imaging during the recent years.This review refers to the technology aspects of alloptical PA detection and system evolution of optically integrated PA and OCT,including Michelson interferometer dual-mode imaging system,Fabry–Perot(FP)interferometer dualmode imaging system and Mach–Zehnder interferometer dual-mode imaging system.It is believed that the optically integrated PA and OCT has great potential applications in biomedical imaging.

Band rules for the frequency spectra of three kinds of aperiodic photonic crystals with negative refractive index materials

By means of the theory of electromagnetic wave propagation and transfer matrix method, this paper investigates the band rules for the frequency spectra of three kinds of one-dimensional （1D） aperiodic photonic crystals （PCs）, generalized Fibonacci GF（p, 1）, GF（1,2）, and Thue Morse （TM） PCs, with negative refractive index （NRI） materials. It is found that all of these PCs can open a broad zero-n gap, TM PC possesses the largest zero-n gap, and with the increase of p, the width of the zero-n gap for GF（p, 1） PC becomes smaller. This characteristic is caused by the symmetry of the system and the open position of the zero-n gap. It is found that for GF（p, 1） PCs, the possible limit zero-n gaps open at lower frequencies with the increase of p, but for GF（1,2） and TM PCs, their limit zero-n gaps open at the same frequency. Additionally, for the tbree bottom-bands, we find the interesting perfect self-similarities of the evolution structures with the increase of generation, and obtain the corresponding subband-number formulae. Based on 11 types of evolving manners Qi （i = 1, 2,... , 11） one can plot out the detailed evolution structures of the three kinds of aperiodic PCs for any generation.

DFT Calculation of Glycine with Methanols Clusters

Density functional theory （DFT） calculations are reported for the structures of neutral and zwitterionic glycine-（CHaOH）n where n=1-6. Initial geometries of the clusters of neutral and zwitterionic glycine with 1-6 methanol molecules are fully optimized at B3LYP/6-31＋G^＊ level of theory. The lowest energy configurations are located and their hydrogen bond structures are analyzed. Theoretical prediction reveals that the methanols prefer to locate near the carboxylic acid group for the small clusters （n_〈3） with the neutral form while the configurations with the methanols bridging the acid and the amino group are favorite in the zwitterionic form clusters. When the number of the methanol molecules in the clusters reaches five and six, the two forms tend to be isoenergetic.

A Novel Real-time Fluorescence Mutant-allele-specific Amplification Method for Rapid Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Analysis

Current methods for single nucleotide polymorphism （SNP） analysis are timeconsuming and complicated. We aimed at development of one-step real-time fluorescence mutant-allele-specific amplification （MASA） method for rapid SNP analysis. The method is a marriage of two technologies： MASA primers for target DNA and a double-stranded DNA-selective fluorescent dye, SYBR Green I. Genotypes are separated according to the different threshold cycles of the wild-type and mutant primers. K-ras oncogene was used as a target to validate the feasibility of the method. The experimental results showed that the different genotypes can be clearly discriminated by the assay. The real-time fluorescence MASA method will have an enormous potential for fast and reliable SNP analysis due to its simplicity and low cost.

Detection of telomerase activity by combination of telomeric repeat amplification protocol and electrochemiluminescence assay

A highly sensitive telomerase detection method that combines telomeric repeat amplification protocol （TRAP） and magnetic beads based electrochemiluminescence （ECL） assay has been developed. Briefly, telomerase recognizes biotinylated telomerase synthesis primer （B-TS） and synthesizes extension products, which then serve as the templates for PCR amplification using B-TS as the forward primer and tris-（2′2′-bipyridyl） ruthenium （TBR） labeled ACX （TBR-ACX） as the reversed primer. The amplified product is captured on streptavidin-coated paramagnetic beads and detected by ECL. Telomerase positive HeLa cells were used to validate the feasibility of the method. The experimental results showed down to 10 cancer cells can be detected easily. The method is a useful tool for telomerase activity analysis due to its sensitivity, rapidity, safety, high throughput, and low cost. It can be used for screening a large amount of clinical samples.

Photonic band structures of quadrangular multiconnected networks

By means of the network equation and generalized dimensionless Floquet-Bloch theorem, this paper investigates the properties of the band number and width for quadrangular multiconnected networks （QMNs） with a different number of connected waveguide segments （NCWSs） and various matching ratio of waveguide length （MRWL）. It is found that all photonic bands are wide bands when the MRWL is integer. If the integer attribute of MRWL is broken, narrow bands will be created from the wide band near the centre of band structure. For two-segment-connected networks and three-segment-connected networks, it obtains a series of formulae of the band number and width. On the other hand, it proposes a so-called concept of two-segment-connected quantum subsystem and uses it to discuss the complexity of the band structures of QMNs. Based on these formulae, one can dominate the number, width and position of photonic bands within designed frequencies by adjusting the NCWS and MRWL. There would be potential applications for designing optical switches, optical narrow-band filters, dense wavelength-division-multiplexing devices and other correlative waveguide network devices.

An improved electrochemiluminescence polymerase chain reaction method for the detection of Fusarium wilts

An improved electrochemiluminescence polymerase chain reaction （ECL-PCR） method was developed and applied to detect Fusarium wilt. Briefly, the internal transcribed spacer （ITS） sequence of Fusarium oxysporumf, sp Cubense （FOC） was amplified by PCR. Two universal fragments, which were complimentary to Ru（bpy）3^2＋ （TBR） labeled probe and Biotin labeled probe, respectively, were connected to the tail of primers so that all the PCR products got universal sequences. Then biotin labeled probes and TBR labeled probes were hybridized with the PCR products at the same time. Through the specific interaction between biotin and streptavidin, the PCR products were captured by streptavidin coated magnetic bead and then detected by ECL assay. The experiment results showed that the healthy banana samples and infected ones can be discriminated by this ECL-PCR method. This improved ECL-PCR approach is useful in Fusarium wilt detection due to its high sensitivity, simplicity and stability.

CONTRAST-ENHANCED PHOTOACOUSTIC IMAGING USING INDOCYANINE GREEN-CONTAINING NANOPARTICLES

Contrast agents are attracting a great deal of attention in photoacoustic inaging.Here weintroduce an exogenous contrast agent that provides high photoacoustic signal amplitude at thenear-infrared wavelength._Our_agents consist_of Indocyanine green(ICG)and phospholi-pid-polyethylene glycol(PL-PEG),entitled ICG-PL-PEG nanoparticles,These nanoparticleshave overcome numerous limitations of ICG,such as poor aqueous stability,concentration-dependent aggregation and lack of target specificity.ICG-PL-PEG nanoparticles are bio-compatible and relatively nontoxic.All the components of ICG-PL-PEG nanoparticles havebeen approved for human use.Upon pulsed laser irradiation,the nanoparticles are more eficient inproducing photoacoustic waves than ICG alone.The results showed that ICG-PL-PEG nano-particles act as good contrast agents for photoacoustic imaging.These unique ICG-PL-PEGnanoparticles have great potential in clinical applications.

Highly sensitive ECL-PCR method for detection of K-ras point mutation

A highly sensitive electrochemiluminescence-polymerase chain reaction (ECL-PCR) method for K-ras point mutation detection is developed. Briefly, K-ras oncogene was amplified by a Ru(bpy)3(2+) (TBR)-labeled forward and a biotin-labeled reverse primer, and followed by digestion with MvaI restriction enzyme, which only cut the wild-type amplicon containing its cutting site. The digested product was then adsorbed to the streptavidin-coated microbead through the biotin label and detected by ECL assay. The experiment results showed that the different genotypes can be clearly discriminated by ECL-PCR method. It is useful in point mutation detection, due to its sensitivity, safety, and simplicity.

MICROW AVE-INDUCED THERMOA COUSTIC IMAGING FOR EARLY BREAST CA NCER DETECTION

Microwave induced thermoacoustic tomography(TAT)is a noninvasive,nonionizing modality based on the inherent differences in microwave absorpt ion of malignant breast tissues and normal adipose dominated breast tissues.In this paper,a TAT system based on multielement acquisition system was built to receive signals.Slices from different layers in the sample were composed into a three-dimensional(3D)volume.Based on the 3D volume,inherent differences in microw ave absorption bet ween different biological tisues can be converted into structure information.Our experimental results of some minicked and human tumors indicate that TAT may potentially be used to detect early-stage breast cancers with high contrast.

In Vivo Monitoring of Neovascularization in Tumour Angiogenesis by Photoacoustic Tomography

Photoacoustic tomography （PAT） is presented to in vivo monitor neovascularization in tumour angiogenesis with high resolution and high contrast images in a rat. With a circular scan system, the photoacoustic signal, generated by laser pulses at a wavelength of 532nm from a Q-switched Nd：YAG laser is captured by a hydrophone with a diameter of 1 mm and a sensitivity of 850nV/Pa. The vascular structure around the rat tumour is imaged clearly, with optimal contrast, because blood has strong absorption near this wavelength. Serial noninvasive photoacoustic images of neovascularization in tumour angiogenesis are also obtained consecutively from a growing tumour implanted under the skin of a rat over a period of two weeks. This work demonstrates that PAT can potentially provide a powerful tool for tumour angiogenesis detection in cancer research. It will bring us closer to clinical applications for tumour diagnosis and treatment monitoring.

Pharmacokinetic Monitoring of Indocyanine Green for Tumor Detection Using Photoacoustic Imaging

We report tumor detection using a photoacoustic technique for the imaging of angiogenesis and monitoring of agent pharmacokinetics on an animal model. We take 532-nm laser pulses to excite photoacoustic signals of blood vessels with acquisition by a broadband hydrophone, and the morphological characteristics of tumor angiogenesis are successfully image depicted. Furthermore, tumor pharmacokinetics is preformed and analyzed with fast multielement photoacoustic imaging of the intravenous-injected indocyanine green （ICG）. Photoacoustic signals of ICG are excited with 805 nm laser pulses and recorded by transducer array as a function of time. The difference between the photoacoustic signal from the tumor side and that from the normal side is observed, and the ICG clearance velocity in the tumor area is found to lag behind that in the normal area. Experimental results demonstrate that photoacoustie imaging of morphological parameter and pharmacokinetics with specific agent may provide high sensitive approach for tumor detection and localization.

A Combined Reconstruction Algorithm for Limited-View Multi-Element Photoacoustic Imaging

We present a photoacoustic imaging system with a linear transducer array scanning in limited-view felds and develop a combined reconstruction algorithm, which is a combination of the limited-field filtered back projection （LFBP） algorithm and the simultaneous iterative reconstruction technique （SIRT） algorithm, to reconstruct the optical absorption distribution. In this algorithm, the LFBP algorithm is exploited to reconstruct the original photoacoustic image, and then the SIRT algorithm is used to improve the quality of the final reconstructed photoacoustic image. Numerical simulations with calculated incomplete data validate the reliability of this algorithm and the reconstructed experimental results further demonstrate that the combined reconstruction algorithm effectively reduces the artifacts and blurs and yields better quality of reconstruction image than that with the LFBP algorithm.

How Many Methanol Molecules Can Solvate a Glycine: a PBE1PBE Approach

Microsolvation of glycine in methanol clusters is explored by the use of DFT calculation method. The lowest energy conformations within 16.72 kJ·mol^-1 of the glycine clustering with one to six methanol molecules, which are obtained at the B3LYP/6-31＋G（d） level of theory, are reoptimized at PBE1PBE/6-311＋G（d,p）. The calculated results agree with our previous results with B3LYP （Chin. J. Chem. Phys. 22 （2009） 577） that the clusters of two forms （Z- and N-form） tend to be isoenergetic when the number of the solvate molecules reaches six. Furthermore, this result is in good agreement with the experiment of the tryptophan-methanol clusters, implying that the present treatments are reasonable and reliable. The results also indicate that nine methanol molecules are not enough to fully solvate a glycine molecule, and a tentative estimation is obtained that ten methanol molecules may fully solvate a glycine molecule, which consists with the experiment results.

Allele-specific amplification and electrochemiluminescence method for single nucleotide polymorphism analysis

A new approach combined the specificity of allele-specific amplification （ASA） with the sensitivity of electrochemiluminescence （ECL） assay for single nucleotide polymorphism （SNP） analysis was proposed. Briefly, target gene was amplified by a biotin-labeled allele-specific forward primer and a Ru（bpy）3 ^2＋（TBR）-labeled universal reverse primer. Then, the amplicon was captured onto streptavidin-coated paramagnetic beads through biotin label, and detected by measuring the ECL signal of TBR label. Different genotypes were distinguished according to the ECL values of the amplicons by different genotypic primers. K-ras oncogene was used as a target to validate the feasibility of the method. The experiment results show that the different genotypes can be clearly distinguished by ASA-ECL assay. The method is useful in SNP analysis due to its sensitivity,safety, and simplicity.