FLUORESCENCE DETECTOR FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE BIO-ASSAY

USE OF UV DYES IS ADVANTAGEOUS IN MANY FLUORESCENCE DETECTION APPLICATIONS DUE TO THE FAVORABLE DYE PROPERTIS (OPA, FOR EXAMPLE, TAGS THE PRIMARY AMINES WITH A FAST REACTION AT ROOM TEMPERATURE). HOWEVER, UV DYES CAN ONLY BE EXCITED WITH WEAK PLASMA SOURCES OR BULKY AND UNRELIABLE LASERS. A RUGGED FLUORESCENCE DETECTOR WITH THE SENSITIVITY OF THE LASER BUT THE SIZE OF THE PLASMA SOURCE IS NEEDED FOR THIS MARKET. DEACON RESEARCH IS DEVELOPING SUCH A DETECTOR BASED ON DIODE LASER TECHNOLOGY. THEIR CALCULATIONS SHOW IT WILL BE ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE MORE SENSITIVE THAN CONVENTIONAL PLASMA-BASED DETECTORS, YET SIGNIFICANTLY SMALLER AND CHEAPER THAN THE EXISTING LASERS. THEIR SOLID-STATE APPROACH HAS NO MOVING PARTS, AND PROMISES A MEAN TIME BEFORE FAILURE OF TENS OF THOUSANDS OF HOURS. THEY ARE CONSTRUCTING A LABORATORY MODEL OF THE LIGHT SOURCE AND MEASURING THE GENERATED UV POWER.