Interaction of Low-Intensity Laser Radiation with Blood and Its Components

The response of the blood of rabbits to the intravenous irradiation by a He-Ne laser radiation (λ = 632.8 nm) has been investigated by the UV-visible and IR absorption spectra of the whole blood, plasma, and erythrocyte mass. It has been established that hemoglobin is a primary photoacceptor absorbing low-intensity He-Ne-laser radiation. The exposure of blood to this radiation causes clearly defined changes in the IR and visible absorption spectra of the blood and erythrocytes. These spectral changes arise as a result of partial photodissociation of hemoglobin-ligand complexes in the process of absorption of laser radiation. It is suggested that photodissociation is a primary reaction that arises in blood exposed to a low-intensity laser radiation.__________Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 72, No. 2, pp. 230–235, March–April, 2005.     

Laser implantation of sodium nitrite into artificial opal pores upon exposure of artificial opal samples to pulsed radiation of the ultraviolet laser

We present experimental results on the introduction (laser implantation) of ferroelectric NaNO₂ into artificial opal pores upon exposure of a thin powder layer of sodium nitrite applied on the artificial opal surface to radiation of the ultraviolet excimer laser. Reflection spectra of broadband radiation from the laser-implanted sample surface are compared with the reflection spectra of pure initial opals, artificial opals impregnated with a saturated aqueous solution of sodium nitrite and evaporated from solvent, and samples in which NaNO₂ was directly introduced in the form of a melt.     

The application of Raman and anti-stokes Raman spectroscopy for in situ monitoring of structural changes in laser irradiated titanium dioxide materials

The use of Raman and anti-stokes Raman spectroscopy to investigate the effect of exposure to high power laser radiation on the crystalline phases of TiO₂ has been investigated. Measurement of the changes, over several time integrals, in the Raman and anti-stokes Raman of TiO₂ spectra with exposure to laser radiation is reported. Raman and anti-stokes Raman provide detail on both the structure and the kinetic process of changes in crystalline phases in the titania material. The effect of laser exposure resulted in the generation of increasing amounts of the rutile crystalline phase from the anatase crystalline phase during exposure. The Raman spectra displayed bands at 144 cm⁻¹ (A1g), 197 cm⁻¹ (Eg), 398 cm⁻¹ (B1g), 515 cm⁻¹ (A1g), and 640 cm⁻¹ (Eg) assigned to anatase which were replaced by bands at 143 cm⁻¹ (B1g), 235 cm⁻¹ (2 phonon process), 448 cm⁻¹ (Eg) and 612 cm⁻¹ (A1g) which were assigned to rutile. This indicated that laser irradiation of TiO₂ changes the crystalline phase from anatase to rutile. Raman and anti-stokes Raman are highly sensitive to the crystalline forms of TiO₂ and allow characterisation of the effect of laser irradiation upon TiO₂. This technique would also be applicable as an in situ method for monitoring changes during the laser irradiation process.     

Synchrotron radiation circular dichroism spectroscopy: vacuum ultraviolet irradiation does not damage protein integrity

Synchrotron radiation circular dichroism (SRCD) spectroscopy is an emerging technique for sensitive determination of protein secondary structures and for monitoring of conformational changes. An important issue for its adoption as a useful technique is whether the high-intensity low-wavelength vacuum ultraviolet radiation in the SRCD chemically damages proteins. In this paper, using horse myoglobin as a test sample, it is shown that extensive irradiation in the SRCD does not produce any change in the chemical nature of the protein as detected by either SDS gel electrophoresis or mass spectrometry. In addition, no changes in the protein secondary structure are detectable from the SRCD spectra after extensive exposure to the SRCD beam.     

Laser-Assisted Formation of Elongated Au Nanoparticles and Subsequent Dynamics of Their Morphology under Pulsed Irradiation in Water

The processes of laser-assisted formation of elongated Au nanoparticles and their subsequent agglomeration and fragmentation have been experimentally investigated. Elongated gold nanoparticles were formed by laser ablation of a solid target in water. IR radiation of ytterbium-doped fiber laser with a pulse width of 200 ns and a pulse energy of 0.5 to 1 mJ was used to this end. The extinction spectra and transmission electron microscopy images indicate the formation of elongated gold nanoparticles. The interaction of laser radiation with aqueous colloids of elongated nanoparticles in dependence of the pulse energy and exposure time has been analyzed. Possible processes of laser-assisted formation of elongated Au nanoparticles and their subsequent transition from agglomeration to fragmentation of gold nanoparticles, induced by laser irradiation are discussed.     

Effect of intravenous laser irradiation on the molecular structure of blood and blood components

We present the results of a spectral study of the effect of low-intensity laser radiation on the molecular structure of blood and blood components. Analysis of the Fourier transform IR absorption spectra of blood confirmed the changes we observed previously in the oxygen transport characteristics of blood with intravenous exposure to the emission from a He-Ne laser. We show that structural and conformational changes in the hemoglobin tetramer, initiated by laser-induced photoreactions between Hb and oxygen, lead to characteristic changes in the shape and intensity of the IR bands for NH stretching vibrations, and also the amide I and amide II absorption bands. In the IR spectra of irradiated blood samples, we note increased absorption in the bands for stretching vibrations of the phosphate groups (945–1280 cm⁻¹), which is evidence for an increase in the nucleic acid content (DNA, RNA). In the spectra of plasma and erythrocytes prepared from irradiated blood, there are no changes in this region of the IR spectrum. At the same time, in the IR spectra of samples of irradiated plasma, the intensity of the bands for stretching vibrations of the CH₂ groups increases substantially. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 73, No. 1, pp. 106–112, January–February, 2006.     

Generation of higher harmonics in laser plasma formed on the surface of a silver target

The results of investigation of the higher harmonics (from the 21st to the 61st order) of radiation of a femtosecond laser (793 nm, 48 fs) that are generated in silver plasma are presented. The changes in the shape and spectra of harmonics for different chirps of the laser radiation are studied. It is found that the wavelengths of harmonics generated in the region of the plateaulike distribution of the converted radiation intensity can be tuned. It is shown that the conditions of phase matching between harmonics and laser radiation are different for different modulations of the femtosecond pulse spectrum. The tuning range of the spectrum of the converted radiation in the region of lower harmonics, which lie in the beginning region of the plateau, is shown to amount to 0.8 nm.     

Dual excimer and CO2 laser etching studies of polyethylene terephthalate

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films preheated with a pulsed CO₂ laser have been ablatively etched with an XeCl laser. The observed reduction in ablation threshold, from 170 to 140 mJ cm^–2, is consistent with a thermal mechanism for XeCl laser ablation of PET. Transient changes in the UV absorption coefficient of PET caused by heating with pulsed CO₂ laser radiation have also been studied and a significant increase in absorption observed at 308 nm. Permanent changes in the ultraviolet absorption of PET following exposure to low fluence XeCl laser radiation are also reported.     

Analysis of spectra of acoustic signals generated by high-power pulsed laser radiation propagating in the atmosphere. 2. Spectra of acoustic signals from laser sparks

Results of theoretical and experimental investigations into the spectra of acoustic signals generated by high-power pulsed laser radiation propagating in the atmosphere in the breakdown regime are presented. Results of analogous investigations for laser breakdown on a single aerosol particle and ensemble of monodispersed particles versus the particle material and size were published in [1]. In the present work, acoustic spectra of discrete laser sparks in the atmosphere are analyzed, and their special features in comparison with acoustic spectra of individual plasma formations, spectra of acoustic signals generated by pulsed laser radiation propagating in the atmosphere in thermooptical regime, and laboratory spectra of continuous laser sparks are discussed. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 12, pp. 26–31, December, 2007.     

Spectral signs of photochemical reactions when blood is exposed <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vivo</Emphasis> to therapeutic doses of ultraviolet radiation

We have used the absorption spectra of whole blood, erythrocytes, and plasma to study photochemical reactions initiated by exposure of blood in vivo to UV radiation (UV irradiation) in the UV-visible and IR regions of the spectrum. We have established that when blood is exposed to therapeutic doses of UV radiation (0.5 J/cm²), the absorption of blood proteins decreases as monitored using the UV absorption and luminescence bands of the proteins; photochemical reactions are initiated in the protein and heme components of the hemoglobin. For the studied doses, the reversible reaction of photodissociation of hemoglobin complexes with oxygen is one of the most likely primary reactions initiated by UV irradiation of blood. We conclude that changes in the position and relative intensities of the IR absorption bands of the peptide groups (stretching and bending vibrations of NH, CN, and CO bonds) may be due to conformational transitions in the blood protein macromolecules, induced with a change in the intermolecular hydrogen bonds on absorption of the UV radiation by the blood. The changes in the absorption spectra of blood initiated by UV irradiation are compared with the results of laboratory blood analyses. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 75, No. 3, pp. 400–405, May–June, 2008.     

Photo-decomposition of thin palladium acetate films with 126 nm radiation

2 O₃, AlN and Si substrates produced by vacuum ultraviolet induced decomposition of palladium acetate is described. The palladium films formed and the palladium acetate layers used were characterised by using ultraviolet spectrophotometry and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The optical transmission of the films after irradiation with pseudo-continuous 126 nm radiation generated by an excimer lamp provided information about the decomposition rate at different pressures and exposure times. The FTIR spectra recorded the chemical changes of the C=O, COO^- and CH₃ groups at different exposure times. The decomposition mechanism of the palladium acetate under these conditions appears to be quite different to that induced by pulsed laser irradiation. Received: 25 November 1996/Accepted: 1 July 1997     

Raman spectroscopy of amorphous silicon subjected to laser annealing

The effect of laser radiation power on the Raman spectra of amorphous silicon obtained by electron-beam evaporation has been revealed. The formation of nanocrystalline inclusions in the amorphous matrix under exposure to a laser with a power of more than 2.5 mW is established by Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence. The influence of the fabrication conditions (substrate temperature and annealing in a vacuum) of source amorphous silicon films on the formation of nanocrystalline inclusions formed by subsequent laser treatment has been investigated. The features of silicon nanocrystal formation in cases when the original amorphous silicon film is obtained at a substrate temperature of ∼250°C have been revealed. These features may be associated with the presence of silicon-silicon multiple bonds.     

Synchrotron‐radiation‐induced oxidation of selenite to selenate in coal‐derived fly ash

Systematic changes observed in consecutive XANES spectra of selenium in samples of fly ash from a power plant in Alberta, Canada, burning subbituminous coal have been interpreted as arising from synchrotron‐radiation‐induced oxidation of a selenite species to selenate. It was estimated that about 15–20% of the selenite was oxidized to selenate during the 2 h exposure of the fly ash to the synchrotron beam. In contrast, the XANES spectra of arsenic (and other trace elements not documented herein) showed no variation. It is believed that this is the first time that radiation‐induced changes have been observed for an element in coal‐derived fly ash.     

Spectral studies of photomodification of blood by therapeutic doses of optical radiation at different wavelengths

We analyze changes in electronic and IR absorption spectra of samples of blood and its components, in the fluorescence spectra of plasma, as well as in the gas composition of blood, the hemoglobin concentration, and acid-base balance indices, upon the irradiation of blood by therapeutic doses of optical radiation at 254, 632.8, 670, and 806 nm. We show that the irradiation of blood by radiation at these wavelengths initiates similar molecular changes in blood and its components and that monochromatic incoherent light acts equally as efficiently as laser radiation. We find that, if the blood irradiation wavelength is in the range of the absorption bands of hemoglobin, the hemoglobin acts as a primary photoacceptor and that the dissociation of hemoglobin complexes with ligands directly in erythrocytes is a primary photoprocess. We conclude that the photomodification of blood should be attributed to therapeutic methods capable of controlling the balance between the production of active forms of oxygen and their inhibition by antioxidant systems of the organism.     

紫外激光照射引起的硅酸铅玻璃结构的变化

采用紫外-可见吸收光谱和电子自旋共振谱(ESR)对硅酸铅玻璃薄膜和体材料受紫外激光照射前后的结构变化进行了研究。研究发现：266 nm的紫外激光照射硅酸铅玻璃体材料时,能使其Urbach能量增大,即玻璃结构的无序性增大。电子自旋共振谱研究表明,266 nm激光照射不会在硅酸铅玻璃中产生顺磁缺陷中心, 也不会对硅酸铅玻璃薄膜在235 nm附近的吸收峰产生影响,但用248 nm紫外激光照射则观察到了235 nm吸收峰的光漂白现象。     

Restructuring of plasmonic nanoparticle aggregates with arbitrary particle size distribution in pulsed laser fields

We have studied processes of interaction of pulsed laser radiation with resonant groups of plasmonic nanoparticles(resonant domains) in large colloidal nanoparticle aggregates having different interparticle gaps and particle size distributions.These processes are responsible for the origin of nonlinear optical effects and photochromic reactions in multiparticle aggregates.To describe photo-induced transformations in resonant domains and alterations in their absorption spectra remaining after the pulse action,we introduce the factor of spectral photomodification.Based on calculation of changes in thermodynamic,mechanical,and optical characteristics of the domains,the histograms of the spectrum photomodification factor have been obtained for various interparticle gaps,an average particle size,and the degree of polydispersity.Variations in spectra have been analyzed depending on the intensity of laser radiation and various combinations of size characteristics of domains.The obtained results can be used to predict manifestation of photochromic effects in composite materials containing different plasmonic nanoparticle aggregates in pulsed laser fields.     

Combined spectroscopic method for determining the fluorophore concentration in highly scattering media

The spectroscopic analysis of composition of highly scattering media, in particular, biological tissues, is associated with difficult interpretation of the spectrum of radiation subjected to both absorption and multiple scattering in a medium. The proposed technique of the combined analysis of spectra of laser radiation fluorescence and diffuse reflection by highly scattering biological media allows quantitative determination of concentrations of basic chromophores and fluorophores in tissues with simultaneous estimation of structural changes in objects under study. To determine the effect of structural parameters on the intensity of backscattered laser and fluorescent radiation, numerical simulation and physical modeling of the interaction of exciting and fluorescent radiation with highly scattering media are performed. The dependences of the measured signal on the concentrations of scatterers and fluorophore (protoporphyrin IX) under study are measured.     

极低频电磁场曝露对于大鼠敏感组织红外光谱特征的影响

极低频电磁场非热生物效应的发生与生物组织接受电磁辐射后微观结构的改变有关,利用红外光谱学分析方法可以有效的研究电磁辐射生物效应发生的微观机制。研究了极低频电磁场曝露对于大鼠电磁敏感组织红外光谱特征的影响,对曝露于50 Hz,0.75 mT极低频电磁场作用20天的大鼠的血液、脑和睾丸组织的红外光谱与正常大鼠组织的红外光谱进行比较分析,从分子水平阐述了极低频电磁场曝露作用生物效应的发生机制。实验结果表明极低频电磁场曝露可导致大鼠敏感组织某些特征吸收峰峰位和峰强产生了规律性的变化,说明傅里叶变换红外光谱方法是研究电磁场不同生物效应的发生机制的一种有效手段。     

Optical diagnostics of physicochemical properties of NiO/Al2O3 nanocomposites upon exposure to different gases and heat

We have studied nanostructural and optical properties of composites of nanostructured nickel oxide films on a substrate from porous aluminum oxide NiO/Al₂O₃ in the UV, visible, and IR spectral ranges on exposure of composites to different gases, vacuum, and heat. We have found that, upon irradiation of NiO/Al₂O₃ composites by laser radiation at a wavelength of 633 nm, they demonstrate a high sensitivity to carbon monoxide CO in the range of the excitonic absorption of nickel oxide. We assume that an increase in the transmission coefficient of the composite in the excitonic absorption band is determined by luminescence that is caused by the oxidation reaction of carbon monoxide. The sensitivity of composites to CO is enhanced with decreasing the size of NiO nanoparticles and after evacuation. The values of the diffuse reflection coefficient at the laser radiation wavelength of 633 nm correlate with the size of nickel oxide nanoparticles. Spectral changes in the range of the fundamental absorption band of NiO that occur in the IR range and in diffuse reflection spectra are related to the appearance of carbon-containing compounds in the composite exposed to CO.     

Generation and detection of ultrashort pulses of electromagnetic field in the terahertz range and their application for spectroscopy

We present experimental results on generation of pulsed terahertz radiation in a ZnTe crystal using nonlinear optical rectification of high-power femtosecond laser pulses. The use of terahertz pulses for spectroscopy is tested in the rotational lines of absorption of water vapors in the atmosphere. Panoramic spectra of absorption of a number of solvents and protein solutions are measured in the range from 0.2 to 2 THz.