1. Review of bioplastics characterisation by terahertz techniques in the view of ensuring a circular economyAndreja Abina, Tjaša Korošec, Uroš Puc, Aleksander Zidanšek, 2023, review article Abstract: The increasing scarcity of natural resources, worsening global climate change, environmental degradation, and rising demand for food are forcing the biotechnology and plastics industries to seek and apply circular economy models that would lead to a sustainable transition in the production and use of bioplastics. Circular economy models can improve the economic productivity of bio-based plastics and have a positive impact on the environment by reducing conventional plastic waste and the consumption of petrochemical feedstocks for plastic production. In addition, some agricultural wastes that have the potential to be used as bioplastics can be reused. Terahertz (THz) systems are already used in the plastics and rubber industries for non-destructive testing, detection, imaging, and quality control. Several reports have highlighted the potential applications of THz spectroscopy and imaging in polymer analysis and plastics characterisation. This potential is even greater with chemometric methods and artificial intelligence algorithms. In this review, we focus on applications that support the transformation of the biotechnology sector to the circular economy, particularly via the transition from conventional plastics to bioplastics. In this review, we discuss the potential of THz systems for the characterisation and analysis of bioplastics and biopolymers. The results of previous studies on biopolymers in the THz frequency range are summarised. Furthermore, the potential of using artificial intelligence approaches such as machine learning as advanced analytical methods in THz spectroscopy and imaging, in addition to the conventionally used chemometric methods, is discussed. The results of this review highlight that THz technology can contribute to closed technological circles in important areas of biotechnology and the related plastics and rubber industries.
Keywords: terahertz spectroscopy, terahertz imaging, circular economy, biopolymer, biotechnology, bioplastics
Published in DKUM: 16.04.2024; Views: 354; Downloads: 187
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2. Analytical gas sensing in the terahertz spectral rangeAndreja Abina, Uroš Puc, Mojca Jazbinšek, Aleksander Zidanšek, 2023, original scientific article Abstract: Exploiting the terahertz (THz) part of the electromagnetic spectrum is attracting attention in various scientific and applied disciplines worldwide. THz technology has also revealed its potential as an effective tool for gas analysis in astronomy, biomedicine and chemical analysis. Recently, it has also become important in environmental applications for monitoring hazardous and toxic gases in the atmosphere. This paper gives an overview of THz gas detection analytical methods for environmental and biomedical applications, starting with a brief introduction to THz technology and an explanation of the interaction of THz radiation with gaseous species and the atmosphere. The review focuses on several gaseous species and groups of air pollutants that have been or can be analysed by THz spectrometry. The review concludes that different but complementary THz detection methods allow unique detection, identification and quantification of gaseous and particulate air pollutants with high selectivity, specificity and sensitivity. THz detection methods also allow further technological improvements and open new application possibilities.
Keywords: terahertz spectroscopy, gas sensing, air pollution, environmental monitoring
Published in DKUM: 28.03.2024; Views: 205; Downloads: 16
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3. Urinary metabolic biomarker profiling for cancer diagnosis by terahertz spectroscopy : review and perspectiveAndreja Abina, Tjaša Korošec, Uroš Puc, Mojca Jazbinšek, Aleksander Zidanšek, 2023, review article Abstract: In the last decade, terahertz (THz) technologies have been introduced to the detection, identification, and quantification of biomolecules in various biological samples. This review focuses on substances that represent important biomarkers in the urine associated with various cancers and their treatments. From a diagnostic point of view, urine liquid biopsy is particularly important because it allows the non-invasive and rapid collection of large volumes of samples. In this review, the THz spectral responses of substances considered metabolic biomarkers in urine and obtained in previous studies are collected. In addition, the findings from the relatively small number of prior studies that have already been carried out on urine samples are summarised. In this context, we also present the different THz methods used for urine analysis. Finally, a brief discussion is given, presenting perspectives for future research in this field, interpreted based on the results of previous studies. This work provides important information on the further application of THz techniques in biomedicine for detecting and monitoring urinary biomarkers for various diseases, including cancer.
Keywords: terahertz spectroscopy, urinary biomarkers, metabolic biomarkers, cancer diagnostics, biomolecules, non-invasive detection, biomedical detection
Published in DKUM: 14.03.2024; Views: 212; Downloads: 30
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4. Frequency range optimization for continuous wave Terahertz imagingBlaž Pongrac, Andrej Sarjaš, Dušan Gleich, original scientific article Abstract: S krajšimi valovnimi dolžinami kot mikrovalovi in večjo globino prodora v material kot infrardeča svetloba, valovi v TeraHertz-nem (THz) spektru ponujajo edinstvene možnosti testiranja materialov. THz tehnologija ponuja neinvazivna in nedestruktivna testiranja v obliki spektroskopije in slikanja. Najbolj uporabljeni sistemi za THz slikanje so sistemi spektroskopije v časovni domeni. Vendar sistemi spektroskopije frekvenčne domene ponujajo odlično frekvenčno ločljivost in so primerni za biomedicinske aplikacije. THz-no slikanje na podlagi spektroskopije v frekvenčnem prostoru je časovno kompleksno in ima pomanjkljivosti zaradi napak pri generiranju THz valov. V tem članku je predstavljen nov princip enodimenzionalnega zajemanja s THz valovi. Predlagana optimizacija frekvenčnega območja temelji na konvolucijski nevronski omreži. Predstavljena je frekvenčna optimizacija za določitev optimalnega frekvenčnega območja za zajem podatkov. Optimalno frekvenčno območje ali pasovna širina morata biti dovolj široka za učinkovito zaznavanje faze in morata biti na presečišču več spektralnih odtisov v opazovanem mediju. Presek spektralnih odtisov je ocenjen z uporabo predlaganega algoritma za optimizacijo frekvenčnega območja, ki temelji na konvolucijski nevronski mreži in algoritmu za občutljivost okluzije. Predlagani algoritem izbira samodejno najobčutljivejši frekvenčni pas THz spektra in omogoča zelo hitre zajeme za pregled in klasifikacijo objektov.
Keywords: terahertz, spectroscopy, imaging, convolutional neural network, occlusion sensitivity, optimization
Published in DKUM: 07.12.2023; Views: 421; Downloads: 22
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