Fiber optic interferometers to sense various physical parameters including temperature, strain, pressure, and refractive index have been widely investigated. They can be categorized into four types: Fabry-Perot, Mach-Zehnder, Michelson, and Sagnac. In this paper, each type of interferometric sensor is reviewed in terms of operating principles, fabrication methods, and application fields. Some specific examples of recently reported interferometeric sensor technologies are presented in detail to show their large potential in practical applications. Some of the simple to fabricate but exceedingly effective Fabry-Perot interferometers, implemented in both extrinsic and intrinsic structures, are discussed. Also, a wide variety of Mach-Zehnder and Michelson interferometric sensors based on photonic crystal fibers are introduced along with their remarkable sensing performances. Finally, the simultaneous multi-parameter sensing capability of a pair of long period fiber grating (LPG) is presented in two types of structures; one is the Mach-Zehnder interferometer formed in a double cladding fiber and the other is the highly sensitive Sagnac interferometer cascaded with an LPG pair.

This paper proposes an optical method which allows determination of the organic compound concentration in water by measurement of the UV (ultraviolet) absorption at a wavelength of 250 nm~300 nm. The UV absorbance was analyzed by means of a multiple linear regression model for estimation of the total organic carbon contents in water, which showed a close correlation with the UV absorbance, demonstrating a high adjusted coefficient of determination, 0.997. The comparison of the TOC (total organic carbon) concentrations for real samples (tab water, sea, and river) calculated from the UV absorbance spectra, and those measured by a conventional TOC analyzer indicates that the higher the TOC value the better the agreement. This UV absorbance method can be easily configured for real-time monitoring water pollution, and built into a compact system applicable to industry areas.

Background: Atherosclerosis is a major global health concern. Targeting macrophages is hypothesized as an alternative treatment for atherosclerosis. Methods: We synthesized alginate-based cisplatin-loaded nanogels (TANgel) as a pH-responsive drug-releasing theranostic nanoplatform for macrophage cells. Carboxylic acid groups of alginic acid were modified with iminodiacetic acid (IDA) to enhance chelation of platinum ions. The near infrared (NIR) fluorophore ATTO655 was conjugated to the modified alginic acid. Cisplatin was used as an antiproliferation drug and as a crosslinking agent between alginate molecules to form TANgel. Release behavior of cisplatin from TANgel was analyzed under different pH conditions. Cellular uptake and therapeutic efficacy of TANgel were tested in the macrophage cell line J774A.1 and normal human cell lines such as HDMVECn. Results: The nanogel had a narrow size distribution of approximately 100 nm. The nanogel showed highly pH-responsive drug release behavior. All incorporated cisplatin was released at pH 5 within 48 h, while less than 15% was released at pH 7.4. The nanogel was preferentially taken up by J774A.1 cells compared to normal human cells, enabling selective NIR fluorescence imaging and chemotherapy of macrophage cells. In addition, the nanogel formulation lowered the therapeutic concentration of the drug with and without low dose radiation therapy (RT) compared to the free drug form. Conclusions: This nanogel system may have potential utility for selective NIR fluorescence imaging and combined chemo/radio therapy of proliferating macrophage cells in atherosclerotic regions, allowing for reduction of systemic toxicity.

We demonstrated a three-dimensional (3D) dental scanning apparatus based on structured illumination. A liquid lens was used for tuning focus and a piezomotor stage was used for the shift of structured light. A simple algorithm, which detects intensity modulation, was used to perform optical sectioning with structured illumination. We reconstructed a 3D point cloud, which represents the 3D coordinates of the digitized surface of a dental gypsum cast by piling up sectioned images. We performed 3D registration of an individual 3D point cloud, which includes alignment and merging the 3D point clouds to exhibit a 3D model of the dental cast.