scholarly journals Direct detection of 5-MeV protons by flexible organic thin-film devices

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (16) ◽  
pp. eabf4462
Author(s):  
Ilaria Fratelli ◽  
Andrea Ciavatti ◽  
Enrico Zanazzi ◽  
Laura Basiricò ◽  
Massimo Chiari ◽  
...  

The direct detection of 5-MeV protons by flexible organic detectors based on thin films is here demonstrated. The organic devices act as a solid-state detector, in which the energy released by the protons within the active layer of the sensor is converted into an electrical current. These sensors can quantitatively and reliably measure the dose of protons impinging on the sensor both in real time and in integration mode. This study shows how to detect and exploit the energy absorbed both by the organic semiconducting layer and by the plastic substrate, allowing to extrapolate information on the present and past irradiation of the detector. The measured sensitivity, S = (5.15 ± 0.13) pC Gy−1, and limit of detection, LOD = (30 ± 6) cGy s−1, of the here proposed detectors assess their efficacy and their potential as proton dosimeters in several fields of application, such as in medical proton therapy.

1993 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 159-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. J. Blundell ◽  
A. Hopkins ◽  
P. J. Worsfold ◽  
H. Casey

The design and performance of a portable, automated flow injection (FI)-based photometric monitor are described. The system is controlled by an in-house microcomputer system that enables the monitor (including a solid state detector) to operate from a 12 V battery supply. The monitor uses the cadmium reduction/diazotization method to analyse for nitrate with a linear range of 0 to 12 mg l-1and a limit of detection of 0.05 mg l-1(NO3-N). The hardware and software design, monitor performance and results obtained during unattended operation are presented.


2011 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 1930-1935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne L. Hennigan ◽  
Jeremy D. Driskell ◽  
Naola Ferguson-Noel ◽  
Richard A. Dluhy ◽  
Yiping Zhao ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTMycoplasma gallisepticumis a bacterial pathogen of poultry that is estimated to cause annual losses exceeding $780 million. The National Poultry Improvement Plan guidelines recommend regular surveillance and intervention strategies to containM. gallisepticuminfections and ensure mycoplasma-free avian stocks, but several factors make detection ofM. gallisepticumand diagnosis ofM. gallisepticuminfection a major challenge. Current techniques are laborious, require special expertise, and are typically plagued by false results. In this study, we describe a novel detection strategy which uses silver nanorod array–surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (NA-SERS) for direct detection of avian mycoplasmas. As a proof of concept for use in avian diagnostics, we used NA-SERS to detect and differentiate multiple strains of avian mycoplasma species, includingAcholeplasma laidlawii,Mycoplasma gallinarum,Mycoplasma gallinaceum,Mycoplasma synoviae, andM. gallisepticum, including vaccine strains 6/85, F, and ts-11. Chemometric multivariate analysis of spectral data was used to classify these species rapidly and accurately, with >93% sensitivity and specificity. Furthermore, NA-SERS had a lower limit of detection that was 100-fold greater than that of standard PCR and comparable to that of real-time quantitative PCR. Detection ofM. gallisepticumin choanal cleft swabs from experimentally infected birds yielded good sensitivity and specificity, suggesting that NA-SERS is applicable for clinical detection.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfredo Garcia-Venzor ◽  
Bertha Rueda-Zarazua ◽  
Eduardo Marquez-Garcia ◽  
Vilma Maldonado ◽  
Angelica Moncada-Morales ◽  
...  

As to date, more than 49 million confirmed cases of Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) have been reported worldwide. Current diagnostic protocols use qRT-PCR for viral RNA detection, which is expensive and requires sophisticated equipment, trained personnel and previous RNA extraction. For this reason, we need a faster, direct and more versatile detection method for better epidemiological management of the COVID-19 outbreak. In this work, we propose a direct method without RNA extraction, based on the Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) and Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats-CRISPR associated protein (CRISPR-Cas12) technique that allows the fast detection of SARS-CoV-2 from patient samples with high sensitivity and specificity. We obtained a limit of detection of 16 copies/μL with high specificity and at an affordable cost. The diagnostic test readout can be done with a real-time PCR thermocycler or with the naked eye in a blue-light transilluminator. Our method has been evaluated on a small set of clinical samples with promising results.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masaaki Muraoka ◽  
Kazunori Sohma ◽  
Osamu Kawaguchi ◽  
Mikio Mizukoshi

ABSTRACTAs WHO reported, four curable STIs-chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis and trichomoniasis occur more than 1 million per each day globally almond 2016. For this reason, it is important to control these STIs, one of which is “to detect”. The general methods in order to detect STIs are nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs). One of the reasons why NAATs are utilized in many tests is that it is possibly to be more sensitive than other test. However, there needs to treat extraction of nucleic acids in advance and amplify specific regions by NAATs, and hence it must take much labour and much time. In this work, for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) and Treponema pallidum (TP) which is each etiological agent of chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis, we evaluate and propose “quicker and simpler” NAATs. Specifically, utilizing mobile real-time PCR device “PCR1100” and PCR reagent kit “KAPA3G Plant PCR Kit”, it was considered whether real-time direct PCR could be performed or not without treating DNA extraction in advance so-called “direct”.As a result, firstly, we established that real-time direct PCR could be performed in all of CT, NG, and TP, and moreover, each Ct value correlated with the concentration of each organism similarly to detection of genome DNA (each correlation coefficient R2 > 0.95). Moreover, each assay demonstrated a limit of detection (LOD) of the follows; CT was 10^0.86 = 7.24 IFU/reaction, NG was 10^-0.19 = 0.65 CFU/reaction, and TP was 10^1.4 = 25.1 organisms/reaction. However, it appeared the sensitivity was a little low, especially for CT and TP.Secondly, we found that even as without treating sample in advance, the time of detection was required more less 15 minutes at any of case, which was very quick compared with other current methods for real-time PCR. Additionally, compared with other commercial devices, it was easier to operate the PCR1100 device, for example, start, analysis of Ct value.In conclusion, the present study has demonstrated that it is possible for real-time direct PCR to perform with combination of the PCR1100 device and the PCR reagent kit in 3 kinds of microorganisms-CT, NG and TP. Furthermore, we propose “quicker and simpler” methods for NAATs, which it would not take labour and time. Further studies are needed in order to contribute to control STIs.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document