Scaffolds manufactured from biological materials promise better clinical functionality, providing that characteristic features are preserved. Collagen, a prominent biopolymer, is used extensively for tissue engineering applications, because its signature biological and physico-chemical properties are retained in in vitro preparations. We show here for the first time that the very properties that have established collagen as the leading natural biomaterial are lost when it is electro-spun into nano-fibres out of fluoroalcohols such as 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol or 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol. We further identify the use of fluoroalcohols as the major culprit in the process. The resultant nano-scaffolds lack the unique ultra-structural axial periodicity that confirms quarter-staggered supramolecular assemblies and the capacity to generate second harmonic signals, representing the typical crystalline triple-helical structure. They were also characterised by low denaturation temperatures, similar to those obtained from gelatin preparations (p>0.05). Likewise, circular dichroism spectra revealed extensive denaturation of the electro-spun collagen. Using pepsin digestion in combination with quantitative SDS-PAGE, we corroborate great losses of up to 99% of triple-helical collagen. In conclusion, electro-spinning of collagen out of fluoroalcohols effectively denatures this biopolymer, and thus appears to defeat its purpose, namely to create biomimetic scaffolds emulating the collagen structure and function of the extracellular matrix.

Fourier imaging in the scanning microscope is considered. It is shown that there are two geometries of the microscope, which have been designated Type 1 and Type 2. Those of Type 1 exhibit identical imaging to the conventional microscope, whereas those of Type 2 (confocal microscopes) display various differences. Imaging of a single point object, two-point resolution and response to a straight edge are also considered. The effect of various arrangements using lenses with annular pupil functions is also discussed. It is found that Type 2 microscopes have improved imaging properties over conventional microscopes and that these may be further improved by use of one or two lenses with annular pupils.

In this Letter, we propose a method for optical image encryption based on diffractive imaging. An optical multiple random phase mask encoding system is applied, and one of the phase-only masks is selected and laterally translated along a preset direction during the encryption process. For image decryption, a phase retrieval algorithm is proposed to extract a high-quality plaintext. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method are demonstrated by numerical results. The proposed method can provide a new strategy instead of conventional interference methods, and it may open up a new research perspective for optical image encryption.

An annular pupil, which can be used to produce a Bessel beam, when combined with radially polarized illumination promises improvements in microscope resolution, increased packing density for optical storage, and finer optical lithography. When combined with a circular detection pupil in confocal microscopy a point-spread function 112 nm wide results (λ = 488 nm). Radially polarized annular illumination of a solid-immersion lens can yield a focal spot smaller than 100 nm for λ = 488 nm. Use of radially polarized illumination with pupil masks is diskussed.

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