Kit media
Odin is a brand new "Deep UV" Raman spectrometer, much more compact reliable and affordable than existing laboratory solutions. Initially developed for applications in bio-pharma (proteins, cancer treatment, immunoglobulin, etc.) and in the nuclear industry (remote measurement of contaminants), the combination of the very high efficiency of the spectrometer and a very low wavelength excitation (228.5 nm, generating a very high Raman signal without disturbance by fluorescence) opens up unprecedented perspectives for molecular analysis in many fields.
The Odin Deep UV Raman spectrometer combines 2 major technological advances:
• A spectrometer, developed by IS-Instruments, based on the concept of heterodyne space interferometry, allowing, by Fourier processing of the interference figure of a "Michelson type" interferometer where the mirrors are replaced by diffraction gratings, to obtain a very high spectral resolution without the need for an input slit on the spectrometer, thus allowing the collection of ~ 100-500 times of signal than on a conventional Czerny-Turner spectrometer. And all in a very compact system and without any moving parts! The stability and signal-to-noise ratio are outstanding and the use of a high-end matrix detector achieves outstanding performance, especially for all low light applications.
• Excitation by a laser at very low wavelength (228.5 nm). This continuous laser uses a laser diode instead of the old high-power gas laser technology or pulsed or near-continuous lasers. This is the TopWave 229 industrial laser model developed by Toptica and whose reliability, stability and performance are unique to date Maintenance and operating costs are reduced to a minimum and there is no longer the need for water cooling or purge system.
• The Raman signal strength is proportional to (1/I4) where I is the excitation wavelength. The use of a wavelength of 228.5 nm therefore generates a signal ~ x 140 times higher than an excitation at 785 nm and ~ 30 times higher than an excitation at 532 nm.
• The fluorescence of the sample no longer has an impact on the measurement. For conventional wavelengths, fluorescence increases as wavelength decreases, leading to trade-offs between Raman signal intensity and fluorescence intensity that can "drown" the Raman signal. However, this fluorescence "starts" at ~ 270-280 nm which allows, with an excitation as low as 228.5 nm, to completely separate the Raman signal from the fluorescence, thus eliminating this difficulty.
• This is particularly efficient for biological samples for which this compromise "Raman efficiency / fluorescence" could be a real difficulty or even an impossibility to perform usable measurements.
The Odin system from IS-Instruments / Opton Laser:
The combination of these 2 technologies and an appropriate Raman probe ("all reflective" probe), makes it possible to open up a whole field of applications. For fragile samples, e.g. immunoglobulin measurement, a dynamic sample displacement system is also proposed to prevent deterioration of the sample. This particular application is described in a paper co-authored by Michael Foster, William Brooks (IS-Instruments) and Philipp Jahn (Toptica).
