i-Diagnostics – non-profit project to prevent pandemics
Naturally occurring and man-made pathogens impose one of the greatest threats on humanity. Security experts concur that Mars colonization, interstellar civilization, as well as survival of humanity on the planet Earth critically depend on our capability of controlling epidemics. Recent COVID-19 pandemic damaged ~700 millions, killed ~7 millions people, and incurred ~$16 Trillion losses – ~$200,000 for a family of 4. Back in 1918, the Spanish flu killed ~50 millions, more than WW1, WW2, Korean and Vietnam wars combined. Definitely, prevention of pandemics should be of the highest priority for national security.
TIRF Labs performs a non-profit project, i-Diagnostics, which goal is to prevent future epidemics and minimize the damage from existing diseases. We envision an infrastructure based on two clusters of open-source platform technologies: TIRF Analytix and i-Diagnostics. The former cluster includes TIRF microarrays for drug screening, laboratory-based mega-diagnostics, and TIRF microscopy for single molecule biology; the latter – i-Diagnostics gadgets for home-use. TIRF Labs’ team is uniquely positioned in the area of molecular diagnostics and drug screening. After 9-11 and anthrax letter attacks, the U.S. Government funded our R&D efforts in the area of CBRNE security. We exceeded the expectations for R&D grants and not only invented and prototyped, but also manufactured and supplied to research groups worldwide our innovative products TIRF Analytix and prototypes of i-Diagnostics. We didn’t use standard marketing, and still rely on the word-of-mouth promotion by our customers who publish their studies in scientific journals. We are not famous yet, haven’t reached massive manufacturing yet, but generate enough income to chip a part of it for our non-profit endeavor i-Diagnostics. Our progress, however, was slow, while Corona and other microbes mutate fast. To accelerate the progress we pledge to give back to society by creating an open source platform for global infrastructure of precision medicine, home-use diagnostics, longevity studies, and single molecule biology. We envision that i-Diagnostics will be available and affordable to everyone, while TIRF Analytix instruments become industrial standards for CBRNE security laboratories. We have successfully completed Phase 1, for which the US Government awarded $4.3M. To accelerate our progress, prevent future epidemics and pandemics and minimize the damage from existing diseases, we inquire philanthropists for donations to cover the development cost of Phase 2. Donate and become a part of global efforts to prevent future pandemics, revolutionize medicine, improve quality, and reduce the cost of healthcare. We also envision that TIRF Analytix and i-Diagnostics will become indispensable tools for the great purpose of “Make America Healthy Again“, longevity and rejuvenation studies.
We are excited to become a part of SpaceX community and contribute to its mission of making humanity an interstellar species. Naturally occurring and man-made biological threats, as mentioned above, impose existential risks on humanity and explain the Fermi paradox. Dr. John Sotos wrote: "... assuming that civilizations universally develop advanced biotechnology, before they become vigorous interstellar colonizers, the model provides a resolution to the Fermi paradox.” TIRF Analytix and i-Diagnostics mitigate for the risks and, thus, are of paramount importance for the interstellar colonization, as well as for preserving humanity on the planet Earth.
TIRF Analytix – Instrumentation for Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence
TIRF Analytix is a cluster of TIRF devices and accessories for Single Molecule Biology, Single Molecule Detection, sm-FRET,
Super-resolution Microscopy, Real-time TIRF Microarrays, Mega-diagnostics, Analysis of Biomolecular Interactions, Rapid Drug Screening, Lead Optimization, Plasma Membrane Studies, Single Cell Analysis, i-Diagnostics, and more…
Introducing uTIRF – the Ultimate TIRF Microscopy Turnkey Station
uTIRF Turnkey Station integrates most of TIRF Analytix technologies and includes prism-TIRF, lightguide-TIRF, and objective-TIRF, infinity objective 20X, 40X, 60X, or 100X, low light CMOS camera, and a multicolor fiber-coupled illuminator. uTIRF Station is available in several configurations: with open perfusion and closed flow chambers, optional electrochemical and dielectrophoretic control. Prism-TIRF, lightguide-TIRF, and objective-TIRF units can be taken from the uTIRF Station and used as add-on accessories for fluorescence microscopes. Inquire about other options.
| Geometry | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Prism-TIRF | The cleanest TIRF effect – stray light<0.01%. Can be used with dry, water-, and oil-immersion objectives. | No open perfusion for prism-down geometry. |
| Lightguide-TIRF | Clean TIRF effect – stray light <0.1%. Can be used with dry, water-, and oil-immersion objectives. | TIRF area needs to be aligned with the objective. |
| Objective-TIRF | TIRF area stays with the objective. | Evanescent wave is contaminated by 10-15% of stray light. |
In addition to traditional objective-based TIRF, TIRF Labs offers advanced prism-TIRF and lightguide-TIRF systems as add-on accessories for fluorescence microscopes. In prism-TIRF and lightguide-TIRF geometries the excitation lightpath is separated from the emission channel. Unlike in objective-TIRF, the intensity of stray light in p-TIRF and lg-TIRF is minimal; the TIRF effect is clean. Lg-TIRF and p-TIRF are exceptionally flexible geometries that can be used with dry, water-, and oil-immersion objectives, low and high numerical aperture. UV light (>190 nm) can be used for excitation, a feature not available in objective-TIRF. Large area of the evanescent wave up to 20 mm X 50 mm can be used in lightguide-TIRF geometry for real-time microarrays to detect proteins, nucleic acids, and metabolites simultaneously.
TIRF Principles. TIRF employs the phenomena of total internal reflection and the evanescent wave to selectively excite fluorophores located at the surface and in close proximity (~100 nm) to the surface of a glass, silica, or plastic slide. Fluorophores that are in the bulk of the solution are not excited and do not fluoresce. Exceptional spatial selectivity gives TIRF its numerous advantages, including the ultimate limit of detection – single molecule. The TIRF effect allows for the circumventing of the diffraction limit of resolution and, therefore, is used in many super resolution microscopy methods. TIRF efficiently minimizes the background and allows for monitoring the molecular dynamics at the level of single molecules in real-time. More »
TIRF Geometries. Prism-, lightguide-, and objective-based optical schemes are three popular geometries that are used for TIRF microscopy. Each geometry has its own set of advantages and limitations. A Prism-based scheme provides the best signal-to-background ratio, however, is difficult to implement with an open perfusion chamber on an inverted microscope. A lightguide-based geometry yields exceptional flexibility and a superior signal-to-noise ratio, can be used with open perfusion chamber on inverted microscopes, and is compatible with dry, water-, and oil-immersion objectives. However, it requires a larger optical power to obtain an equal intensity of the evanescent wave. An objective-based scheme collects the largest portion of the emitted fluorescence, but the quality of TIRF effect is significantly compromised. Because the excitation light shares the same optics with the emission channel, a large amount (~15%) of the stray light excites the bulk of the specimen and deteriorates the TIRF effect in the case of objective-TIRF. TIRF Microscopy webpages will help you choose a geometry suited for your TIRF applications, while TIRF Products webpages – select illuminators, fluidics, optional electrochemical and dielectrophoretic control, other devices and supplies that are necessary for TIRFing. TIRF Labs offers the entire range of TIRF instrumentation: from inexpensive add-on TIRF accessories for microscopes and fluorometers -to turnkey TIRF microscopy stations and automated TIRF biosensor instruments. More »
TIRF Applications. TIRF spectroscopy and TIRF microscopy are powerful analytical tools for numerous life science areas, including single molecule detection, super resolution microscopies, cell biology, real-time microarrays for molecular diagnostics, bioassay development, nanoengineering, and drug screening. In particular, TIRF is “a method uniquely suited to image the plasma membrane with its associated organelles and macromolecules in living cells. The method shows even the smallest vesicles made by cells, and can image the dynamics of single protein molecules.” [Steyer JA, Almers W. A real-time view of life within 100 nm of the plasma membrane. Nature Reviews, Molecular Cell Biology, 2001, 2(4), 268-75]. References to the articles published by our customers and TIRF application notes are available at www.tirf-labs.com/applications
TIRF Products. TIRF Labs offers a broad range of TIRF products: prism-, lightguide-, and objective-based TIRF microscopy systems, from simple add-on accessories to sophisticated computer-controlled turnkey stations, including uTIRF. Our LED and laser fluorescence illuminators include cost-efficient single-color light sources, and two-, three-, four-, or seven-color computer-controlled illuminators. For TIRF spectroscopy we supply TIRF accessories with gravity flow and digital fluidics. Our automated TIRF microarray biosensors detect multiple nucleic acid, protein, and metabolite markers in parallel and in a matter of a few minutes. Popular products also include TIRF slides, lightguides, and prisms. More »
iDiagnostics – The Cellphone Future of Medicine visit: i-Diagnostics.net