Introduction to Biophotonics

Course #: PHY 610
Proposers: Asima Pradhan (Physics), Naren Naik (EE)
Units: 4
Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of Electromagnetic theory
Other interested faculty: R.K.S. Rathore (Maths)
Note: The course is offered and structured as an elective for post graduate (MTech/Dual Degree/PhD) students

Description
Biophotonics is the application of photonic science and technology to life sciences. It is a rapidly emerging area with a wide range of applications in clinical medicine and biology. Early detection of cancer, ultrahigh resolution optical microscopy, minimally invasive imaging for tissue function monitoring, therapeutic applications, measuring genetic patterns, identifying pathogens are all examples of biophotonic applications. Biophotonics being a forefront area of interdisciplinary research, requires fundamental understanding of light matter interaction and imaging; this course will be an introduction to students interested in such interdisciplinary research.

Content (# of hours)
  1. Introduction to Biophotonics (2)
  2. Basics of optics and light matter interaction: Reflection, refraction scattering, diffraction, absorption, emission, scattering (4)
    • Electronic absorption spectroscopy
    • Electronic luminescence spectroscopy
    • Vibrational spectroscopy
    • Mie scattering, Rayleigh scattering
  3. Principles of Lasers, Non-linear Optics associated with Biophotonics (4)
    • Basic principles of lasers
    • Lasers relevant to Biophotonics
    • Mechanisms of NLO processes, second order, third order, multiphoton processes
    • Time resolved studies
  4. Photobiology: Interaction of light with tissue (6)
    • Light-Tissue Interaction Variables
    • Light-Tissue Interaction Theory: Radiative Transport Theory
  5. Bioimaging: Quantitative (14)
    • Different Optical Imaging techniques: Comparison with other imaging techniques (Ultrasound, MRI)
    • Diffuse Optical Tomography: Basic tomography process and models, computational reconstruction techniques.
  6. Bioimaging: Qualitative
    • Microscopy: simple, compound, phase contrast, dark field differential interference, contrast, confocal, multiphoton, near field optical.
    • Spectral and Time resolved Imaging, FRET, FLIM, non linear optical imaging
  7. Applications of bioimaging (3)
    • Endogenous, exogenous fluorophores, GFP
    • Tissue imaging
    • In vivo imaging
    • In vivo Spectroscopy
    • Optical Biopsy
    • Single molecule detection
  8. Optical Biosensors: fiber optic, evanescent wave, surface plasmon resonance (2)
  9. Bio-nano-photonics (2 )

References:

  1. "Bioimaging Current Concepts in Light and Electron Microscopy", Douglas E. Chandler & Robert W. Roberson, Jones and Bartlett publishers.
  2. "Introduction to Biophotonics", Paras N. Prasad, Wiley Inter-science, A John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Publication.
  3. "An Introduction to Biomedical Optics", R. Splinter and B. A. Hooper, Taylor & Francis.
  4. Lihong Wang, Hsin-I Wu, "Biomedical Optics", Wiley Interscience 2007.