Development of a novel lipophilic, magnetic nanoparticle for in vivo drug delivery.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the transfection potential of chitosan-coated, green-fluorescent magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) (chi-MNPs) after encapsulation inside polyethylglycol (PEG)ylated liposomes that produced lipid-encapsulated chitosan-coated MNPs (lip-MNPs), and also to evaluate how these particles would distribute in vivo after systemic injection. The transfection potential of both chi-MNPs and lip-MNPs was evaluated in vitro in rat brain endothelial 4 (RBE4) cells with and without applying a magnetic field. Subsequently, the MNPs were evaluated in vivo in young rats. The in vitro investigations revealed that the application of a magnetic field resulted in an increased cellular uptake of the particles. The lip-MNPs were able to transfect the RBE4 cells with an incidence of approximately 20% of a commercial transfection agent. The in vivo distribution studies revealed that lip-MNPs had superior pharmacokinetic properties due to evasion of the RES, including hepatic Kuppfer cells and macrophages in the spleen. In conclusion, we were able to design a novel lipid-encapsulated MNP with the ability to carry genetic material, with favorable pharmacokinetic properties, and under the influence of a magnetic field with the capability to mediate transfection in vitro.

Experimental demonstration of a cognitive quality of transmission estimator for optical communication systems.

The impact of physical layer impairments in optical network design and operation has received significant attention in the last years, thereby requiring estimation techniques to predict the quality of transmission (QoT) of optical connections before being established. In this paper, we report on the experimental demonstration of a case-based reasoning (CBR) technique to predict whether optical channels fulfill QoT requirements, thus supporting impairment-aware networking. The validation of the cognitive QoT estimator is performed in a WDM 80 Gb/s PDM-QPSK testbed, and we demonstrate that even with a very small and not optimized underlying knowledge base, it achieves between 79% and 98.7% successful classifications based on the error vector magnitude (EVM) parameter, and approximately 100% when the classification is based on the optical signal to noise ratio (OSNR).

Demonstration of 5.1 Tbit/s data capacity on a single-wavelength channel.

We have generated a single-wavelength data signal with a data capacity of 5.1 Tbit/s. The enabling techniques to generate the data signal are optical time-division multiplexing up to a symbol rate of 1.28 Tbaud, differential quadrature phase shift keying as data format, and polarisation-multiplexing. For the first time, error-free performance with a bit error rate less than 10(-9) is demonstrated for the 5.1 Tbit/s data signal. This is achieved in a back-to-back configuration using a direct detection receiver based on polarisation- and time-demultiplexing, delay-demodulation and balanced photo-detection.

Localized biosensing with Topas microstructured polymer optical fiber.

We present what is believed to be the first microstructured polymer optical fiber (mPOF) fabricated from Topas cyclic olefin copolymer, which has attractive material and biochemical properties. This polymer allows for a novel type of fiber-optic biosensor, where localized sensor layers may be activated on the inner side of the air holes in a predetermined section of the mPOF. The concept is demonstrated using a fluorescence-based method for selective detection of fluorophore-labeled antibodies.

Reflective SOA re-modulated 20 Gbit/s RZ-DQPSK over distributed Raman amplified 80 km long reach PON link.

An 80 km bidirectional Raman amplified long reach PON link has been demonstrated. A 20 Gbit/s RZ-DQPSK signal was transmitted downstream, ASK-remodulated at 1.25 Gbit/s by an RSOA and transmitted upstream in the same fiber. Both signals were detected error free without use of EDFAs.

Photonic crystal fiber long-period gratings for biochemical sensing.

We present experimental results showing that long-period gratings in photonic crystal fibers can be used as sensitive biochemical sensors. A layer of biomolecules was immobilized on the sides of the holes of the photonic crystal fiber and by observing the shift in the resonant wavelength of a long-period grating it was possible to measure the thickness of the layer. The long-period gratings were inscribed in a large-mode area silica photonic crystal fiber with a CO2 laser. The thicknesses of a monolayer of poly-L-lysine and double-stranded DNA was measured using the device. We find that the grating has a sensitivity of approximately 1.4nm/1nm in terms of the shift in resonance wavelength in nm per nm thickness of biomolecule layer.

Photonic crystal fiber based evanescent-wave sensor for detection of biomolecules in aqueous solutions.

We demonstrate highly efficient evanescent-wave detection of fluorophore-labeled biomolecules in aqueous solutions positioned in the air holes of the microstructured part of a photonic crystal fiber. The air-suspended silica structures located between three neighboring air holes in the cladding crystal guide light with a large fraction of the optical field penetrating into the sample even at wavelengths in the visible range. An effective interaction length of several centimeters is obtained when a sample volume of less than 1 microL is used.