A: The Hamamatsu R12199-02 3-inch photomultiplier tube is the photodetector chosen for the first phase of the KM3NeT neutrino telescope. About 7000 photomultipliers have been characterised for dark count rate, timing spread and spurious pulses. The quantum efficiency, the gain and the peak-to-valley ratio have also been measured for a sub-sample in order to determine parameter values needed as input to numerical simulations of the detector. K: Cherenkov detectors; Large detector systems for particle and astroparticle physics; Neutrino detectors; Photon detectors for UV, visible and IR photons (vacuum)

A novel near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent dye (NN382, LICOR, Inc.) was evaluated as an ultrasensitive peptide-labeling reagent for use with capillary electrophoresis (CE). Six angiotensin I (Ang-I) variants were selected as model peptides for the derivatization and separation studies. The closely related decapeptides were labeled with the NIR dye, separated using CE, and detected by NIR laser-induced fluorescence. Derivatization of the peptides was achieved under aqueous conditions using 2.5-500 pmol of Ang-I in a 50-microL sample (5 x 10(-8)-1 x 10(-5)M), and between 1.3 and 254 amol of the labeled peptides were injected on column. The fluorescence response was linear over a 200-fold range (correlation r > or = 0.9986). The limit of detection (SNR = 3, signal/RMS noise) ranged from 100 to 300 zmol, for the six Ang-I variants. Four of six peptides were resolved from each other and excess dye using capillary zone electrophoresis with a simple 50 mM phosphate run buffer, pH 7.2. Two pairs of coeluting peptides were successfully resolved using micellar electrokinetic chromatography with a nonionic surfactant, Triton X-100. The NIR amine-labeling reagent NN382 is a viable alternative to using visible fluorophores for CE methods requiring high sensitivity.

The near‐infrared (NIR) region (600–1100 nm) offers several advantages in comparison with the conventional ultraviolet/visible (UV/VIS) region for spectroscopic measurements and detection. The lack of commercial instrumentation impeded the development of NIR techniques for years. The advent of inexpensive photodiodes and diode lasers used widely by the telecommunication industry gave the necessary impetus for development of analytical NIR techniques. This article describes the fundamental properties of NIR fluorophores and absorbers and provides a comparison with conventional UV/VIS dyes. The various analytical applications developed in the past decade that have utilized the advantages offered by this region are described with a particular emphasis on bioanalytical uses.

No abstract