This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 9862, including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, and Conference Committee listing.

Whispering gallery mode resonators provide a robust and sensitive platform for the trace detection of chemical and/or biological analytes. The conventional approaches exhibit some challenges in simultaneous multi-channel (i.e., multi-species) detection. We will present an alternative monitoring scheme that allows for the spatial multiplexing of whispering gallery mode resonators with the simultaneous observation of the resonance spectra from each of them. The resonance spectra and corresponding shifts due to analyte adsorption are readily observed from different spherical resonators.

Targeting at a low cost and accessible diagnostic device in clinical practice, a compact surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor with a large dynamic range in high sensitivity is designed to satisfy commercial needs in food safety, environmental bio-pollution monitoring, and fast clinical diagnosis. The core component integrates an optical coupler, a sample-loading plate, and angle-tuning reflectors is injection-molded as a free-from prism made of plastic optics. This design makes a matching-oil-free operation during operation. The disposability of this low-cost component ensures testing or diagnosis without cross contamination in bio-samples.

In biotechnology, the ability to instantly detect contaminants is key to running a reliable bioprocess. Bioprocesses are prone to be contaminated by cells that are abundant in our environment; detection and quantification of these cells would aid in the preservation of the bioprocess product. This paper discusses the design and development of a portable kinetics fluorometer which acts as a single-excitation, single-emission photometer that continuously measures fluorescence intensity of an indicator dye, and plots it. Resazurin is used as an indicator dye since the viable contaminant cells reduce Resazurin toResorufin, the latter being strongly fluorescent. A photodiode detects fluorescence change by generating current proportional to the intensity of the light that reached it, and a trans-impedance differential op-amp ensures amplification of the photodiodes’ signal. A microfluidic chip was designed specifically for the device. It acts as a fully enclosed cuvette, which enhances the Resazurin reduction rate. E. coli in LB media, along with Resazurin were injected into the microfluidic chip. The optical sensor detected the presence of E. coli in the media based on the fluorescence change that occurred in the indicator dye in concentrations as low as 10 CFU/ml. A method was devised to detect and determine an approximate amount of contamination with this device. This paper discusses application of this method to detect and estimate sample contamination. This device provides fast, accurate, and inexpensive means to optically detect the presence of viable cells.

We present research results centered on development of a highly sensitive handheld chem/biosensor device using a novel class of engineered proteins, designed to undergo extreme conformational changes upon binding their target, which in turn cause extreme changes in refractive index in the protein layer. These proteins are attached to a detector chip with a structured metasurface, to translate the refractive index change into an enhanced shift in surface plasmon resonances (SPR), thereby improving the sensitivity of the overall detector relatively to current commercially available SPR systems. Theoretical calculations have demonstrated the potential of the conformational changes in the engineered proteins to provide the desired change in refractive index. A plasmonic chip with a simple grating metasurface structure was designed to maximize the SPR shift. A prototype chip and a prototype for the overall device housing were fabricated with the inclusion of all other required (commercially available) optical components. The proposed device holds considerable promise as a low-cost, highly sensitive, field-deployable detection system for chemical and biological toxins.

This paper addresses the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to carry out atmospheric data collection and studies. An important area of research is the study of the chemistry and physics of Earth's planetary boundary layer (PBL). The PBL, also known as the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), is the lowest part of the atmosphere and its behavior is directly influenced by its contact with the planetary surface. Sampling of the PBL is performed in a timely and periodic manner. Currently, sensors and uncontrollable balloons are used to obtain relevant data and information. This method is cumbersome and can be ineffective in obtaining consistent environmental data. This paper proposes the use of autonomous UAS’ to study the atmosphere in an effort to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the sampling process. The UAS setup and design is provided, and preliminary data collection information is shared.

Aircraft pollutants emitted during the landing-takeoff (LTO) cycle have significant effects on the local air quality surrounding airports. There are currently no inexpensive, portable, and unobtrusive sensors to quantify the amount of pollutants emitted from aircraft engines throughout the LTO cycle or to monitor the spatial-temporal extent of the exhaust plume. We seek to thoroughly characterize the unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) emissions from jet engine plumes and to design a portable imaging system to remotely quantify the emitted UHCs and temporally track the distribution of the plume. This paper shows results from the radiometric modeling of a jet engine exhaust plume and describes a prototype long-wave infrared imaging system capable of meeting the above requirements. The plume was modeled with vegetation and sky backgrounds, and filters were selected to maximize the detectivity of the plume. Initial calculations yield a look-up chart, which relates the minimum amount of emitted UHCs required to detect the presence of a plume to the noise-equivalent radiance of a system. Future work will aim to deploy the prototype imaging system at the Greater Rochester International Airport to assess the applicability of the system on a national scale. This project will help monitor the local pollution surrounding airports and allow better-informed decision-making regarding emission caps and pollution bylaws.

Maximum diversity of life exists within the estuaries and coral reefs of the Globe. The absence of vertebrate and other land dwelling adaptations has resulted in an enormous range of complexity among invertebrates and their symbiotic biome resulting in the generation of compounds finding uses in anti-tumor and antibiotic applications. It has been widely reported that the greatest factor limiting progress in characterizing and processing new therapeutics derived from invertebrates is the lack of adequate original material. Symbiotic bacteria within specific tunicates often synthesize antitumor compounds as secondary metabolites. We describe a 3-stage protocol that utilizes acoustic and photonic analysis of large areas of marine ecosystem and life forms. We refer to this as Estuary Assessment System (EAS), which includes a multi-frequency acoustic transducer/sensing instrument mounted on our research vessel. This generates a topological map of surveyed tracks of marine locations known to be habitats of useful actinobacteria laden invertebrates. Photonic devices are used to generate image and pulse data leading to location, identification and isolation of tunicates and actinobacteria.

Characterization of ship plumes is very challenging due to the great variety of ships, fuel, and fuel grades, as well as the extent of a gas plume. In this work, imaging of ship plumes from an operating ferry boat was carried out using standoff midwave (3-5 μm) infrared hyperspectral imaging. Quantitative chemical imaging of combustion gases was achieved by fitting a radiative transfer model. Combustion efficiency maps and mass flow rates are presented for carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO₂). The results illustrate how valuable information about the combustion process of a ship engine can be successfully obtained using passive hyperspectral remote sensing imaging.

The focus of this study was addressed to investigate the potentiality of HyperSpectral Imaging (HSI) in the monitoring of commercial consolidant products applied on wood samples. Poplar (Populus Sp.) and walnut (Juglans Regia L.) were chosen for the consolidant application. Both traditional and innovative products were selected, based on acrylic, epoxy and aliphatic compounds. Wood samples were stresses by freeze/thaw cycles in order to cause material degradation. Then the consolidants were applied under vacuum. The samples were finally artificially aged for 168 hours in a solar box chamber. The samples were acquired in the SWIR (1000-2500 nm) range by SISUChema XL™ device (Specim, Finland) after 168 hours of irradiation. As comparison, color measurement was also used as economic, simple and noninvasive technique to evaluate the deterioration and consolidation effects on wood. All data were then processed adopting a chemometric approach finalized to define correlation models, HSI based, between consolidating materials, wood species and short time ageing effects.

EU-28 countries currently generate 460 Mt/year of construction and demolition waste (C&DW) and the generation rate is expected to reach around 570 Mt/year between 2025 and 2030. There is great potential for recycling C&DW materials since they are massively produced and content valuable resources. But new C&DW is more complex than existing one and there is a need for shifting from traditional recycling approaches to novel recycling solutions. One basic step to achieve this objective is an improvement in (automatic) sorting technology. Hyperspectral Imaging is a promising candidate to support the process. However, the industrial distribution of Hyperspectral Imaging in the C&DW recycling branch is currently insufficiently pronounced due to high investment costs, still insufficient robustness of optical sensor hardware in harsh ambient conditions and, because of the need of sensor fusion, not well-engineered special software methods to perform the (on line) sorting tasks. Thereby frame rates of over 300 Hz are needed for a successful sorting result. Currently the biggest challenges with regard to C&DW detection cover the need of overlapping VIS, NIR and SWIR hyperspectral images in time and space, in particular for selective recognition of contaminated particles. In the study on hand a new approach for hyperspectral imagers is presented by exploiting SWIR hyperspectral information in real time (with 300 Hz). The contribution describes both laboratory results with regard to optical detection of the most important C&DW material composites as well as a development path for an industrial implementation in automatic sorting and separation lines. The main focus is placed on the closure of the two recycling circuits "grey to grey" and "red to red" because of their outstanding potential for sustainability in conservation of construction resources.

In-situ sampling, characterization and quantification of colloidal aggregates and flocs in ambient water is complex but needed in order to understand their role in development and maintenance of moving fluid muds, muck, bottom boundary lutocline layers and nephelometric interfaces in aquatic systems. These bottom boundary interfaces and associated processes contribute to sedimentation, particle deposition and resuspension of total particulate matter and associated nutrients. Increasing the scientific understanding of the above requires advances in environmental sensing instrumentation (passive and active) to successfully understand these aquatic interfaces. Standalone in-situ sensors that automatically perform multiple steps including sampling, separation, and detection have the potential to greatly advance analytical science. A new in-situ multispectral optical camera system for environmental monitoring and surveillance of delicate flocs and related aggregate structures is described. Results of the system show that flocs - 0.1 mm –10.2 mm diameter (mean diameter of 2.77 mm), with a variance of 5.952 mm and a median effective cross-section area of 30 mm² can be measured using the passive multispectral optical imaging system. The system is lightweight, compact and suitable for shallow or deep water deployment. When combined with fixed station acoustic echogram instruments, nephelometric (turbidity) waves can be easily observed. Time sequential analysis of imagery allows the system to be used as an optical particle velocimetry system (OPVS). Initial shallow water testing resulted in Lagrangian particle velocities of 0.3 to 3 cm sec^-1 to be measured. Similar results were obtained from an acoustic velocity current meter (MAVS3) and a Marsh McBirney 201D electromagnetic current meters. When combined with results from direct methods using sondes for estimating sediment mass fluxes, the combined systems provide data necessary for sediment and water quality modeling. The new optical sensor system will help address analytical needs reported in past studies and provides a new standard method and protocol for measuring the movement of sediment and particulates in the aquatic bottom boundary layers.

Monitoring of contaminants associated with specific water resources using transmission spectra, with respect to types and relative concentrations, requires tracking statistical profiles of water contaminants in terms of spatial-temporal distributions of electromagnetic absorption spectra ranging from the ultraviolet to infrared. For this purpose, correlation between spectral signatures and types of contaminants within specific water resources must be made, as well as correlation of spectral signatures with results of processes for removal of contaminants, such as ozonation. Correlation between absorption spectra and changes in chemical and physical characteristics of contaminants, within a volume of sampled solution, requires sufficient sensitivity. The present study examines the sensitivity of transmission spectra with respect to general characteristics of water contaminants for spectral analysis of water samples.