Nature 1994 May 5 (369):79-80

Imaging Sequence Space

        Youvan, D. C.

KAIROS Scientific Inc.,3350 Scott Blvd., Bldg. 62, Santa Clara, CA 95054, USA

Digital imaging spectrophotometers can simultaneously measure the specta of hundreds of features in a two-dimensional scene. While a variety of applications can be anticipated, a colorimetric analysis of mutants expressing pigmented proteins has already led to the development of efficient algorithms for optimizing combinatorial mutagenesis.

Depending on the context, the acronym DIS can mean either a digital imaging spectrophotometer or digital image processing so that a spectrum can be obtained for each pixel or group of pixels in a two-dimensional scene.  Commercially available imaging spectrophotometers have now been developed that utilize charge coupled device detectors and diffuse light sources in both a transmission and reflectance mode.  This instrument design, along with selective pixel processing within a defined feature, yields high resolution, low noise spectra from 400 nm to 1,000 nm.  The quality of DIS spectra is far superior to that obtained from conventional spectrophotometers which cannot differentiate between absorption and light scattering.  Furthermore, DIS is amenable to many different types of samples that cannot be easily analysed using conventional means.

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