Oct 14 2007
The first application of optical supercontinuum lasers in flow-cytometry was reported in a recent Nature publication by researchers at National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the US National Institute of Health. The experiments were conducted using Fianium's SC450 white light source based on an ultrafast high power fiber laser integrated with photonic crystal fiber.
"Even the most modern cytometers typically provide for not more than four laser wavelengths," commented Dr. William Telford, research scientist at NCI. "This is largely due to limited selection of wavelengths available with existing laser technology. Supercontinuum white light lasers provide wavelengths that are difficult to produce using traditional technologies, allowing virtually any fluorophore to be analyzed by flow-cytometry."
"Fiber laser optical supercontinuum systems, introduced by Fianium in 2005, have generated a lot of interest in the research community," said Dr. Anatoly Grudinin, General Manager of Fianium. "Our customers are still exploring potential applications of these systems. SC450 laser used for flow-cytometery experiments at NCI generated 4W of power distributed across 450-2500 nm range, offering sufficient spectral power density to compete with single-wavelength lasers. Our latest models of supercontinuum lasers offer powers up to 8W, covering spectral range 390-2600 nm."