Hitachi-high-technologies Corporation

Hitachi, Ltd.

Applied Biosystems, LLC

Hitachi High-tech Corporation

Satoshi Takahashi

Ryoji Inaba

Tomoyuki Sakai

Kenji Yasuda

Yoshitada Oshida

Takanobu Haga

Tsuyoshi Sonehara

Taisaku Seino

Muneo Maeshima

Masaya Kojima

Nobutaka Kumazaki

Motohiro Yamazaki

Kazumichi Imai

Hiromi Yamashita

Miho Ozawa

Takuya Matsui

Hirokazu Kato

Toshihiko Nakata

Eric S Nordman

Richard T Reel

Toshiro Saito

Masatoshi Narahara

Michihiro Saito

Tomoaki Sakata

Shigeru Matsui

Takashi Anazawa

Tomohiro Shoji

Masashi Kiguchi

Kyoko Imai

Yoshihiro Nagaoka

Kenko Uchida

Ryuji Tao

Yoshitaka Kodama

Takeshi Ohura

Naruo Watanabe

Satoshi Ozawa

Takashi Irie

Daizo Tokinaga

Takashi Gomi

Noriyo Nishijima

Shigeyuki Sasaki

Koshin Hamasaki

Rena Akahori

Akira Maekawa

Koichi Matsumoto

Takayuki Obara

Isao Haraura

Ozawa Satoshi

The present invention provides a device and method for analyzing the characteristics of a biopolymer with excellent mechanical stability, high spatial resolution and sensitivity using a simple device construction. Specifically, the Raman scattered light of a biopolymer is measured and the properties of monomer units forming the biopolymer are analyzed by using a biopolymer property analysis chip () characterized by comprising: a solid substrate (); at least one nanopore () disposed in the solid substrate (); and one or more electrically conductive thin films () disposed on the solid substrate (). The biopolymer property analysis chip () is characterized in that the electrically conductive thin films () are disposed partially on the solid substrate () where the nanopore () is formed and a biopolymer which has penetrated into the nanopore () is caused to generate Raman scattered light by means of irradiation with external light.

Biopolymer optical analysis device and method

The present invention relates to a nucleic acid analysis device for analysis of nucleic acid in a sample through fluorometry, in which a localized surface plasmon by light irradiation, and in which a nucleic acid probe or a nucleic acid synthase for the analysis of the nucleic acid in the sample is disposed in a region of generation of the surface plasmon. The present invention allows the fluorescence intensifying effect of the surface plasmon to be produced efficiently and also enables the immobilization of a DNA probe or the nucleic acid synthase in a region on which the fluorescence intensifying effect is exerted, thus making it possible to carry out a measurement on the base elongation reaction without having to remove the unreacted substrate with the fluorescent molecule.

Nucleic acid analysis device and nucleic acid analyzer using the same

Provided are a method and an apparatus for easily identifying and detecting fluorescent material types captured in respective reaction regions of a substrate, particularly, a method and an apparatus for identifying and measuring the fluorescence intensities of a plurality of fluorescent materials using a small pixel count. The fluorescence intensities of four or more types of fluorescent materials are divided by a dividing section at ratios different at least for each fluorescence maximum wavelength range, and are detected by at least one detector including pixels for detecting the light fluxes divided at the different ratios. The type of the fluorescent material is determined on the basis of the ratio of the detected fluorescence intensity of the same detection portion, and the fluorescence intensity is measured.

Fluorescence analyzing apparatus and fluorescence detecting apparatus

A fluorescence detector in which a sample substrate is provided with a structure unit comprising a prism or a diffraction grating. After excitation light falling on the sample substrate is totally reflected at a biomolecule-immobilized face that is located in the opposite side of the structure unit, the structure unit allows the emission of the reflected light therefrom. To ensure multiple visual field measurement, a sample substrate-driving unit is provided to scan the sample substrate.

Fluorescence detector

The present invention has an object to provide a method for efficiently detecting an image with a smaller number of pixels. The invention relates to fluorescence analysis which uses a substrate having a plurality of regions for being capable of immobilizing biologically-related molecules in positions of lattice points of a lattice structure, and which causes the fluorescence from a certain lattice point to be wavelength-dispersed in a direction other than the direction toward the adjacent closest lattice point. According to an embodiment, for example, the number of pixels of a two-dimensional sensor required for fluorescence analysis of the regions with the biologically-related molecules immobilized can be set to several hundred times to fifty times smaller than that in the conventional case without degrading the measurement accuracy. This can achieve the improvement of throughput, reduction in price, and/or improvement of the operability of an analyzing device.

Fluorescence analyzing device and fluorescence analyzing method

A DNA inspecting apparatus including driving means for relatively changing positions of the multi-spot lights and a position of the DNA chip so as to detect the fluorescent lights in such a manner that a desired area on the DNA chip is irradiated with the multi-spot lights, and a control system for determining and inspecting DNA information about the to-be-inspected DNA chip from fluorescent light intensities and fluorescent light positions of the desired area on the DNA chip, the fluorescent light intensities and the fluorescent light positions being detected by the driving means and the fluorescent light detecting means.

Method of inspecting a DNA chip and apparatus thereof

An object of the present invention relates to observation of single molecule fluorescence while temperature of a sample solution is controlled by a temperature controller and intrinsic fluorescence of the temperature controller is avoided, in a total internal reflection microscope. The present invention relates to provision of an opening at areas of the temperature controller through which incident light and reflected light pass, and configuration adopting a material with intrinsic fluorescence lower than that of the other parts, in a total internal reflection microscope including a prism and the temperature controller. The present invention enables intrinsic fluorescence of the temperature controller to be suppressed, which allows highly sensitive fluorescence observation while controlling sample solution temperature with high precision. For instance, this in turn allows the throughput of single molecule DNA sequencing using a total internal reflection microscope to be improved.

Total internal reflection microscope apparatus and method for analyzing fluorescent sample

A device and method for fluorescence observation have good operability, high sensitivity, and high acid reliability. The device is used for fluorescence observation using evanescent light. The angle of incidence of the excitation light is adjusted so that the excitation light is totally reflected from the surface of a substrate irrespective of the angle of the substrate surface. The method includes a step of shining the excitation light on the observation substrate while continuously varying the angle of the excitation light with respect to the observation substrate. In addition, the method includes a step of sensing the shone excitation light via optical sensors, and a step of setting the angle of total reflection according to the result of the sensing by the optical sensors. In the present device and method, the direction in which the shone excitation light travels varies with the angle of incidence.

Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) observation device

The present invention aims at reducing background noise derived from a substance that is present in the vicinity of a target substance such as a DNA and protein and attached to the surface of a substrate without an effect on a fluorescent dye labeling the target substance. The substrate that has a probe and is capable of interacting with the target substance is irradiated with noise removing light such that an evanescent field is generated on the surface of the substrate. A target substance and a foreign particle, which are non-specifically stuck to the surface of the substrate, are decomposed by the evanescent field generated by the irradiation with the noise removing light. The evanescent field present near the surface of the substrate has almost no effect on the probe. It is possible to reduce the background noise derived from the substance that is present in the vicinity of the target substance and attached to the surface of the substrate and suppress effects on the probe and the target substance interacting with the probe.

Method for fluorescence analysis and fluorescence analyzer

An object of the present invention is to provide a capillary electrophoresis apparatus in which simultaneity can be ensured between sensitivity and data acquisition to decrease a pull-up signal while spectral data acquisition is eliminated in each capillary exchange. The invention relates to a capillary electrophoresis apparatus characterized in that a multi-bandpass filter is provided in an optical detection system. In one aspect of the invention, a signal detection area of a two-dimensional detector is divided into plural regions corresponding to wavelength transmission regions of the multi-bandpass filter. An integrated value of the fluorescence spectrum signal is determined in the region including a fluorescence spectrum peak of an analysis sample in the plural regions. The analysis is performed with the integrated value.

Capillary electrophoresis apparatus and electrophoresis method

An object of the present invention relates to detecting a target substance with high contrast. The invention relates to analysis of a target substance using a light-transmitting substrate and a metal for inducing plasmon resonance, and further using a low refractive index layer with an opening portion, which forms an interface with the substrate, and which has a lower refractive index than the substrate. Light emitted from a substrate side is totally reflected at the interface to irradiate the metal arranged in the opening portion with evanescent light. Light generated from the target substance by plasmon resonance of the evanescent light is detected. According to the invention, the radiation of evanescent light to a material other than the target substance can be reduced, and thereby light emission from the martial other than the target substance, e.g., a molecule floating around the target substance, can be reduced.

Apparatus and method for detecting target substance, or device used for these apparatus and method

A fluorescence analyzing method includes the steps of irradiating a board, to which oligonucleotide is fixed, with light for fluorescence measurement; focusing produced fluorescence to form an image; and detecting the fluorescence with a two-dimensional sensor. Here, the board is provided with plural regions to which the oligonucleotide is fixed, and the plural regions are spaced apart from one another on the board substantially equidistantly in the vertical and horizontal directions. A fluorescent image is detected in a condition where the following equation is satisfied:where ds denotes the interval between the regions, M denotes the imaging magnification of an optical focusing/imaging system, dd denotes the pixel pitch of the two-dimensional sensor, and n denotes an integer (n=1, 2, 3, 4, 5).

Fluorescence analyzing method, fluorescence analyzing apparatus and image detecting method

System and method for fluorescent light excitation and detection from samples to enhance the numerical aperture and/or reduce the cross-talk of the fluorescent light.

Refractive index matching in capillary illumination

An object of the present invention is to provide a capillary electrophoresis apparatus in which simultaneity can be ensured between sensitivity and data acquisition to decrease a pull-up signal while spectral data acquisition is eliminated in each capillary exchange. The invention relates to a capillary electrophoresis apparatus in which capillary position shift is detected in each capillary exchange by detecting a capillary position. A capillary position measuring light source is provided in the capillary electrophoresis apparatus of the invention. The capillary is irradiated with light emitted from the capillary position measuring light source, a capillary image is detected with a two-dimensional detector, and thereby a position deviation of the capillary is determined. On the basis of the position deviation of the capillary, a data acquisition area is set in the two-dimensional detector, or a reference fluorescent light spectrum determined from the capillary at the standard position is corrected.

A metallic structure is provided on a surface of a substrate. A component having a longer wavelength than excitation light is detected from luminescence from fixation positions of biomolecules and emitted from a material other than the biomolecules, and is used for photometrical analysis. As the structure, usable is a particulate (a metallic structure of a size not larger than a wavelength of the excitation light), a minute protrusion, or a thin film with minute apertures, which are made of a metal such as gold, chrome, silver or aluminum. In the case of the particulate or the minute protrusion, photoluminescence of the structure is detected with a biomolecule being fixed thereon. In the case of the thin film with minute apertures, Raman scattered light of specimen solution around the biomolecules, and photoluminescence of the metallic structure near the biomolecules are detected with biomolecules being fixed in the apertures.

Photometric instrument

Growing community of inventors

Hitachinaka, Japan

Satoshi Takahashi