Super-twisted
Light that has been twisted like a corkscrew and then twisted even tighter has been used by Scottish scientists to probe incredibly small samples.
Light that has been twisted like a corkscrew and then twisted even tighter has been used by Scottish scientists to probe incredibly small samples.
“We are very excited by this research,” said Dr Malcolm Kadodwala, senior lecturer in the school of chemistry, “Essentially, this twisted light, which does not exist naturally, allows us to detect biological materials at unprecedented low concentrations.”
Kadodwala said the light has been particularly good at detecting the structure of amyloids – insoluble proteins that stick together to form plaques – associated with degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and CJD.
“We are now looking at see if this same technique can be adapted to detect a wider range of proteins which are indicative of other diseases,” Kadodwala said, “The fact this method requires much less material for analysis than current techniques and used a form of light previously unrealised is a big step forward.”
The powerful twisted light has numerous potential applications in biosensing and could be used to detect particular types of virus which have similar structures.
