Preservation of dangerous forensic samples of evidence with the use of mobile robotic system

The richest source of information about crime and criminals is the place of the incident. From the point of view of forensics the examination of the crime scene is the primary activity of inquiry and it is the core action at the scene. However, there are scenes in which conditions threaten the health and lives of investigators, e.g. an illegal laboratory of controlled substances. However, there is a need to disclose, transport and store the obtained evidence, which is a source of danger, for the purposes of criminal proceedings. Police Academy in Szczytno (Poland) conducts a research project, which aims at the development of innovative solutions and technology that will enable proper and effective protection, transport, storage and disposal of such hazardous material evidence. A solution that would eliminate these risks is a robotic system for taking samples (e.g. samples of reaction mixtures). With a view to safety of SOCOs the proposed solution is of major importance

Protease-Activated Drug Development

In this extensive review, we elucidate the importance of proteases and their role in drug development in various diseases with an emphasis on cancer. First, key proteases are introduced along with their function in disease progression. Next, we link these proteases as targets for the development of prodrugs and provide clinical examples of protease-activatable prodrugs. Finally, we provide significant design considerations needed for the development of the next generation protease-targeted and protease-activatable prodrugs

Single-walled carbon nanotubes as a multimodal-thermoacoustic and photoacoustic-contrast agent

We have developed a novel carbon nanotube-based contrast agent for both thermoacoustic and photoacoustic tomography. In comparison to deionized water, single-walled carbon nanotubes exhibited more than twofold signal enhancement for thermoacoustic tomography at 3GHz. In comparison to blood, they exhibited more than sixfold signal enhancement for photoacoustic tomography at 1064nm wavelength. The large contrast enhancement of single-walled carbon nanotubes was further corroborated by tissue phantom imaging studies

Novel breast cancer detection system combining both thermoacoustic (TA) and photoacoustic (PA) tomography using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as a dual contrast agent

We report here a novel breast cancer scanner using microwave and light excitation and ultrasound detection. This combined thermoacoustic and photoacoustic tomography scanner is a nonionizing low cost system that can potentially provide high-resolution, dual contrast (microwave and light absorption) three dimensional images of the breast. Front breast compression will be used in this scanner to alleviate patient discomfort, experienced in side breast compression during traditional X-ray mammography. This scanner will use dry instead of gel ultrasonic coupling. We have also developed a carbon nanotube-based contrast agent for both thermoacoustic and photoacoustic imaging. In the future, targeted molecular photoacoustic and thermoacoustic imaging should be possible using this contrast agent

In vivo carbon nanotube-enhanced non-invasive photoacoustic mapping of the sentinel lymph node

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB), a less invasive alternative to axillary lymph node dissection (ALND), has become the standard of care for patients with clinically node-negative breast cancer. In SLNB, lymphatic mapping with radio-labeled sulfur colloid and/or blue dye helps identify the sentinel lymph node (SLN), which is most likely to contain metastatic breast cancer. Even though SLNB, using both methylene blue and radioactive tracers, has a high identification rate, it still relies on an invasive surgical procedure, with associated morbidity. In this study, we have demonstrated a non-invasive single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT)-enhanced photoacoustic (PA) identification of SLN in a rat model. We have successfully imaged the SLN in vivo by PA imaging (793 nm laser source, 5 MHz ultrasonic detector) with high contrast-to-noise ratio (=89) and good resolution (~500 µm). The SWNTs also show a wideband optical absorption, generating PA signals over an excitation wavelength range of 740–820 nm. Thus, by varying the incident light wavelength to the near infrared region, where biological tissues (hemoglobin, tissue pigments, lipids and water) show low light absorption, the imaging depth is maximized. In the future, functionalization of the SWNTs with targeting groups should allow the molecular imaging of breast cancer

Single-walled carbon nanotubes as a multimodal-thermoacoustic and photoacoustic-contrast agent

We have developed a novel carbon nanotube-based contrast agent for both thermoacoustic and photoacoustic tomography. In comparison to deionized water, single-walled carbon nanotubes exhibited more than twofold signal enhancement for thermoacoustic tomography at 3GHz. In comparison to blood, they exhibited more than sixfold signal enhancement for photoacoustic tomography at 1064nm wavelength. The large contrast enhancement of single-walled carbon nanotubes was further corroborated by tissue phantom imaging studies

In vivo carbon nanotube-enhanced non-invasive photoacoustic mapping of the sentinel lymph node

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB), a less invasive alternative to axillary lymph node dissection (ALND), has become the standard of care for patients with clinically node-negative breast cancer. In SLNB, lymphatic mapping with radio-labeled sulfur colloid and/or blue dye helps identify the sentinel lymph node (SLN), which is most likely to contain metastatic breast cancer. Even though SLNB, using both methylene blue and radioactive tracers, has a high identification rate, it still relies on an invasive surgical procedure, with associated morbidity. In this study, we have demonstrated a non-invasive single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT)-enhanced photoacoustic (PA) identification of SLN in a rat model. We have successfully imaged the SLN in vivo by PA imaging (793 nm laser source, 5 MHz ultrasonic detector) with high contrast-to-noise ratio (=89) and good resolution (~500 µm). The SWNTs also show a wideband optical absorption, generating PA signals over an excitation wavelength range of 740–820 nm. Thus, by varying the incident light wavelength to the near infrared region, where biological tissues (hemoglobin, tissue pigments, lipids and water) show low light absorption, the imaging depth is maximized. In the future, functionalization of the SWNTs with targeting groups should allow the molecular imaging of breast cancer

Novel breast cancer detection system combining both thermoacoustic (TA) and photoacoustic (PA) tomography using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as a dual contrast agent

We report here a novel breast cancer scanner using microwave and light excitation and ultrasound detection. This combined thermoacoustic and photoacoustic tomography scanner is a nonionizing low cost system that can potentially provide high-resolution, dual contrast (microwave and light absorption) three dimensional images of the breast. Front breast compression will be used in this scanner to alleviate patient discomfort, experienced in side breast compression during traditional X-ray mammography. This scanner will use dry instead of gel ultrasonic coupling. We have also developed a carbon nanotube-based contrast agent for both thermoacoustic and photoacoustic imaging. In the future, targeted molecular photoacoustic and thermoacoustic imaging should be possible using this contrast agent