Snapshots

Laser optics 2014

This year’s laser optics took place from March 18th to 20th. The laser optics trade fair takes place every 2 years at the exhibition grounds beneath Berlin’s radio tower. Optical technologies and microsystems technology presented for the first time together at the laser optics 2014. The OSA Optics and Photonics Congress and the Congress “Optical sensors and cyber-physical systems” were special highlights of the program.

Among the exhibitors was also the LTB Lasertechnik Berlin GmbH, which introduced a device for the diagnosis of malignant melanoma using melanin fluorescence. In 2001, an LTB team, under the leadership of Dr. Matthias Scholz and his research partner Dr. Dieter Leupold, began to search for a practicable method for pain-free, safe and fast detection of melanomas. “The key idea of our long-term research is to gradually stimulate the melanin, i.e., in two steps, to glow (fluoresce)”, explained LTB CEO Dr. Scholz. For this, the scientists first used short pulse femtosecond lasers, but measuring the extremely faint fluorescence of the melanin alongside other chromophores in the skin proved to be difficult.

The breakthrough came in 2006 by extending the laser pulse. “Nanosecond pulses largely suppress the fluorescence of the other skin chromophores, and only the melanin fluoresces – something that can be recorded by a highly sensitive camera”, explained Dr. Leupold. In the course of further research, a second key discovery revealed that the fluorescence of melanin in the healthy tissue differs significantly from that of malignant melanoma. The first laboratory tests on tissue samples with the prototype LIMES 16-P showed the detectability of melanomas in the skin using fluorescence.

On the basis of this research, the management of LTB decided to further develop the prototype into a commercial medical device in cooperation with dermatologists and histologists. Last year, necessary work to achieve the medical certification began for the LIMES. Human clinical trials in order to prove pain-free, safe and fast diagnosis of malignant melanoma will begin shortly.

For more information please visit:

www.laser-optics-berlin.de

and

http://www.ltb-berlin.de/Melanom-Diagnostik.374.0.html

(27.02.2014)

The Einstein Foundation Berlin supports further cancer specialists for Berlin

The Einstein Foundation Berlin is giving its support to the appointment of the cancer specialist Hans Schreiber as a new Einstein Visiting Fellow. As pathology professor at the University of Chicago he is one of the world’s most renowned experts in the fight against cancer. Together with his new research team in Berlin, Prof. Schreiber hopes to develop innovative therapeutic approaches that could lead to a breakthrough in cancer therapy.

“Window Chamber” is the name of the microscopy method which uses laser scan technology and was developed in Hans Schreiber’s laboratory. For the first time it is possible to observe cancer cells tissue in situ over a longer period and without any disturbing interventions. In doing so, Prof. Schreiber hopes to gain an insight into the interactions between different cells both with each other and the cancer cells with the immune system. He will soon take up his work in Berlin supporting the “Berlin School of Integrative Oncology” (BSIO) at the Charité-Universitätsmedizin for the next 2 years. The funding of the Einstein Foundation will allow Prof. Schreiber to build up a local research team and to finance extensive experiments. He will also teach undergraduate and graduate students. “Berlin has once more become a magnet for scientific capacities from around the world. This is mainly due to the wealth of scientific institutions in the city”, says Prof. Hans Schreiber.

Schreiber is considered to be one of the most experienced cancer specialists in the world. After studying at the University of Freiburg, he continued his research in the United States. As a professor of pathology he carries out research and teaches at one of America’s most prestigious teaching hospitals, the University of Chicago. He also has the chairmanship of the Committee of Immunology.

The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities – Head office of the Einstein Foundation Berlin (source: Angelika Fischer/ESB).

In addition to Einstein Professor Angelika Eggert, and Einstein Junior Fellow Frederick Klauschen, Hans Schreiber is the third expert in the fight against cancer, to be brought to Berlin with the help of the Einstein Foundation. The number of subsidized “Einstein Visiting Fellows” has now increased to a total of 13. The long-term aim of the program is to integrate top foreign researchers or scientists in the Berlin research and scientific landscape (source: Einstein Foundation Berlin).

More information about the Einstein Foundation Berlin can be found at:

http://www.einsteinfoundation.de/de/start.html

(27.02.2014)

Scholarships and grants

With its internet portal “Stipendienlotse”, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) offers trainees, students and young scientists an interactive platform to find the most suitable scholarship, based on individual criteria. The comprehensive scholarship database can be filtered according to many different criteria such as training phase, fields of study or target regions. The “Stipendienlotse” is the central point of contact for nationwide and international scholarships in the private and public sectors.

All private and public scholarships have the opportunity to introduce themselves in the web portal.

Please visit:

http://www.stipendienlotse.de/

(27.02.2014)

Laser safety courses

Fundamental and very specific knowledge and skills are essential for the use of medical lasers.

There are a number of laser courses available that satisfy the training concept of the German Society for Laser Medicine (DGLM) e.V. The following listed courses follow the guidelines of the DGLM:

Berlin, LMTB & Ev. Elisabeth Hospital: Laser medicine from A to Z / Lasermedizin von A bis Z

URL: http://www.lmtb.de/kurse/lasermedizin_de.php

Berlin, LMTB: Lasers in Dentistry / Laser in der Zahnmedizin

URL: http://www.lmtb.de/kurse/zahnmedizin_de.php

Ulm, ILM: Laser safety course “Lasers in Medicine”/Sachkundekurs “Laser in der Medizin”

URL: http://www.ilm-ulm.de/fortbildung/kurse.html

The training concept of the DGLM proposes a two-stage training program. This usually comprise of:

• a 2-day basic course to convey general laser knowledge and the basics of medical application as well as a laser safety course,

• a 1-day course either in a specific subject area or general clinical laser application

The chronological order and the time frame of the course are recommended but are by no means obligatory. Accreditation of the clinical courses by the DGLM requires recognition of the relevant state medical chambers. The point system is applicable.

For further information about the training concept of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Lasermedizin (DGLM) e.V. please visit:

http://www.dglm.org

(21.02.2014)

Researchers from Freiburg/Germany are developing a purely chemical method in order to deliver therapeutic nanoparticles to target cells

Prof. Dr. Prasad Shastri, Director of the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry and a member of the Cluster of Excellence BIOSS –“Center for Biological Signaling Studies” at the University of Freiburg, together with his PhD students Julia Voigt and Jon Christensen, have developed a new principle to deliver drug capsules of a few hundred nanometers in size to blood vessel cells. The team used charged polymers with the appropriate lipid solubility to identify cell types based solely on their biophysical properties.

So far, researchers have placed molecules on the surface of the nanoparticles that bind to proteins on the target cell. “What makes our discovery special is that for the first time a cell is targeted without resorting to the ligand-receptor principle”, said Prof. Shastri, who headed the study. The study was currently selected as the cover story of one issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Further information can be found at:

https://www.pr.uni-freiburg.de/pm/2014/pm.2014-02-10.11

(28.02.2014)

Original publication: Voigt J, Christensen J, Shastri VP. Differential uptake of nanoparticles by endothelial cells through polyelectrolytes with affinity for caveolae. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2014;111(8):2942–7.

Laser-assisted bioprinting

Besides nanotechnology, bioprinting is expected to be the next big technological revolution of the present time. According to researches of the Tissue BioEngineering Laboratory at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) bioprinting is defined as “the use of computer-aided transfer processes for patterning and assembling living and non-living materials with a prescribed 2D or 3D organization in order to produce bio-engineered structures serving in regenerative medicine, pharmacokinetic and basic cell biology studies”. As compared to traditional approaches in tissue engineering, bioprinting represents a paradigm shift. Indeed, its principle is no longer to seed cells onto a biodegradable scaffold but rather to organize the individual elements of the tissue during its fabrication step (before its maturation) through the layer-by-layer deposit (bottom-up) of biologically relevant components (source: TEAL, France).

In its latest publication, the INSERM researchers report on laser-assisted bioprinting (LAB). LAB allows the printing of cells and liquid materials with a cell- or picoliter-level resolution, making it an emerging and promising technology to fabricate tissue-like structures that have the physiological functionality of their native counterparts. The LAB technology has additional advantages such as automation, reproducibility, and high throughput and is therefore compatible with the (industrial) fabrication of 3D constructs of physiologically relevant sizes. In their article, the authors present the numerous steps that allow printing of viable cells with a well-preserved micrometer pattern: (1) preprocessing: laser set-up, bio-ink cartridge and bio-paper preparation, and pattern design; and (2) processing: bio-ink printing on the bio-paper.

Further information can be found at:

http://www.teal.u-bordeaux2.fr/

(28.02.2014)

Original publication: Devillard R, Pagès E, Correa MM, Kériquel V, Rémy M, Kalisky J, Ali M, Guillotin B, Guillemot F. Cell patterning by laser-assisted bioprinting. Methods Cell Biol 2014;119:159–74.

France is the first EU country to ban tattoo inks for safety reasons

There is an ongoing debate whether tattoo inks can induce cancer or not. Experts have warned that toxic ink used for tattoos could seep into the body and increase the risk of cancer. Nanoparticles of ink may enter via the bloodstream and settle in major organs – such as kidneys – causing them to stop functioning normally. It is estimated, that as many as 5% of tattoo studios are believed to use ink that contains carcinogenic compounds – such as cobalt and mercury.

Scientists are calling for greater regulation of tattoo dyes and tattoo ink manufacturers of Europe group are campaigning to remove all carcinogenic ink from use.

Desmond Tobin, director of Bradford University’s Center for Skin Sciences, was shocked to discover there was no regulation on inks, The Sunday Times reports. “We need to do more work”, he said. “But there is no question that these substances can be toxic”.

Tattooed woman (© Linda James @ PublicDomainPictures.net).

Jorgen Serup, Professor of Dermatology at Copenhagen’s University Hospital, found carcinogenic chemicals in 13 out of 21 commonly used tattoo inks in Europe.

“Millions of Europeans are now being tattooed with chemical substances of unknown origin”, he said “Until now, no one has really looked at the risks, and we need to get proper research going in this field”.

“People should be given written information about the inks that are used on them. It may be that, like cigarette smoking, they still choose to take the risk, but they need to be informed”, he said (source: The Huffington Post).

The French health authorities have now responded. With effect from January 1, 2014 they banned 59 dyes used in cosmetics, including tattoo inks, for safety reasons.

In Germany, on the 6th and 7th June 2013, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) together with the Free University of Berlin held their first international symposium on the safety of tattoo agents. In five sessions, internationally reputed experts presented the current state of knowledge and discussed open questions in the areas of “Analysis & Exposure”, “Toxicology”, “Microbiology & Hygiene”, “Technology” and “Risk Assessment & Regulation” and “Tattoos and Health Risks”.

Further information can be found at:

http://www.bfr.bund.de/en/events_2013.html

and

http://www.bfr.bund.de/cm/343/tattoos-inks-and-cancer.pdf

(27.02.2014)

Scientists achieve nuclear fusion with a giant laser

Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory achieved a breakthrough: A nuclear fusion system has produced more energy than it initially absorbed.

While that may seem a small victory, it is the first time scientists have been able to replicate, to a small degree, the same process that the sun and stars use to create their massive amounts of energy.

The research, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature, involved a Petawatt power laser used to try to ignite fusion plasma fuel in a confined space. Each pulse of the laser, which delivered a peak power of 1,000,000,000,000,000 Watts, lasted less than 30 femtoseconds, or 0.00000000000003 s.

The laser squeezes hydrogen atoms together producing helium atoms, and in the process a massive amount of energy is released.

A fusion reaction is markedly different from fission reactions that are used in today’s nuclear reactors. Instead of splitting atoms as fission does, fusion bonds atoms. With fusion, only a tiny amount of fuel is present at any given time (typically about a milligram), according to Mike Dunne, director for Laser Fusion Energy at Lawrence Livermore Labs.

The laser, known as the National Ignition Facility (NIF), uses 192 beams 300 yards long that focus on a fuel cell about the diameter of a No. 2 pencil.

The interior of the NIF target chamber. The service module carrying technicians can be seen on the left. The target positioner, which holds the target, is on the right (source: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory).

While powerful, the laser has not yet been able to ignite the plasma fuel. When and if it does, the fuel would begin to burn in a self-sustaining reaction to such a degree that it will produce a Megajoule of energy. Producing that staggering amount of energy could help to solve the world’s energy issues.

“Think of it like the gas in the piston chamber of your car, where the idea is to ignite all the fuel to produce an efficient burn. So it is ‘self-sustaining’ but can never be ‘run-away.’ In the case of laser fusion, the burn time is incredibly short – typically a few tens of picoseconds”, Dunne said.

The researchers’ latest victory marks the accomplishment of a key goal on the way to plasma fuel ignition: the project generated energy through a fusion reaction that exceeded the amount of energy deposited into deuterium-tritium fusion fuel and hotspot during the implosion process, “resulting in a fuel gain greater than unity”, the team stated in the Nature article (source: Lucas Mearian, Computerworld.com).

Please visit:

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9246307/Scientists_achieve_nuclear_fusion_with_giant_laser

(28.02.2014)

Original publication: Hurricane OA, Callahan DA, Casey DT, Celliers PM, Cerjan C, Dewald EL, Dittrich TR, Döppner T, Hinkel DE, Berzak Hopkins LF, Kline JL, Le Pape S, Ma T, MacPhee AG, Milovich JL, Pak A, Park HS, Patel PK, Remington BA, Salmonson JD, Springer PT, Tommasini R. Fuel gain exceeding unity in an inertially confined fusion implosion. Nature 2014;506(7488):343–8.