CdSe/ZnS quantum dots with a core/shell microstructure have been widely used as fluorescent probes for detecting specific biological reactions ; thus, fluorescent nanoparticles for use as biological probes have attracted much attention. In this review the structural and optical features of quantum dots, the surface modification for conjugating biomolecules, and the toxicity of cadmium are introduced. In addition to quantum dots, recent works on rare-earth-doped nanophosphors with visible and near-infrared emission, fluorescent microbeads with nanophosphors, and nanoparticle probes for dual modal imaging of fluorescence and magnetic resonance are summarized.

In various research fields such as pathology and drug discovery, molecular imaging techniques for various molecules such as proteins and drugs with a high spatial resolution at the cellular scale are required. In recent years, component analysis and the measurement of the spatial distribution of each component using imaging mass spectrometry has been carried out intensively. Imaging mass spectrometry can detect not only the materials beforehand expected but also all existing materials. In this paper, methods and elemental techniques used in imaging mass spectrometry, and the stigmatic and microscopic imaging mass spectrometry equipment currently being developed by the authors are described.

By using plane-wave x-rays with synchrotron radiation, refraction-based x-ray medical imaging can be used to visualize soft tissue, as reported in this paper. This method comprises (1) two-dimensional (2D) x-ray dark-field imaging (XDFI), (2) the tomosynthesis of pseudo 3D (sliced) x-ray imaging by the adoption of XDFI and (3) 3D x-ray imaging by utilizing a newly devised algorithm. We aim to make contribution to the early diagnosis of breast cancer, which is a major cancer among women, and rheumatoid arthritises which cannot be detected in its early stages.

Mesophase is a well-known state of matter that exhibits a self-assembling nature involving a spontaneous alignment behaviour of molecules on a substrate surface to give a film with a large area of a uniformity for the alignment. Liquid crystalline organic semiconductors potentially have high carrier mobility comparable to that of amorphous silicon (10^-1 cm² V^-1 s^-1), and therefore, are of interest as a new type of organic semiconductor. In this article, studies on organic transistors fabricated with liquid crystalline organic semiconductors are briefly reviewed.

Terahertz imaging techniques are emerging as a new tool for nondestructive detection with industrial applications. On the other hand, their application for the bioimaging is still under study, although terahertz imaging has high potential owing to its unique features. In this article, a metal mesh sensor, label-free detection, near-field optical measurement, and tomography are introduced as novel bioimaging techniques using terahertz waves.

The recent development of coherent x-ray sources has enabled the realization of coherent scattering x-ray microscopy. Its basic principles, recent applications and potential use in x-ray free-electron lasers are described. A newly developed method of x-ray microscopy, called x-ray ptychography, is also briefly introduced.

Polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) technologies have greatly advanced in the past decade and some PEFCs have already been commercialized to a limited extent. In this communication, the present status of PEFC technologies for automotive application is presented and the remaining technical challenges, which are crucial for the wider commercialization of PEFC technologies, are discussed.

Fluorescence bioimaging is one of the most important techniques in biomedical technologies. Current imaging technologies are limited in terms of the time and depth of observation due to the use of short-wavelength excitation light, such as UV or blue light, which causes color fading of the phosphors and photodamage to the substances in the biological system being imaged. Ceramic nanophosphors doped with rare-earth ions are known to emit fluorescence efficiently under near-infrared excitation. The use of near-infrared excitation with the ceramic nanophosphors is expected to solve the above problems caused by short-wavelength excitation light. In this article, the development of a fluorescence bioimaging system using near-infrared excitation using rare-earth-doped ceramic nanophosphors is reported.

Devices using state-of-the-art image sensor technology have 12 million pixels, which have been miniaturized less than 2×2μm for use in consumer digital cameras. The size of a human cell is about 20μm. The possibility of fabricating bio- and cell-sensing devices by LSI fabrication technology has been considered. Recently, we have proposed a new sensing device field named “Intelligent Biosensing Devices”, which is a fusion of biosensing and LSI technologies. Using CCD/CMOS image sensor technology, the development of an ion imaging system, which can observe a 2-dimensional ion distribution in real time, is reported.

As a system that can realize nanoscale superlubricity, we have focused on the nanoscale carbon hybrid interface formed by a nanoscale fullerene ball sandwiched by nanoscale graphite sheets, and we have been attempting to construct novel systems with ultralow friction. In this report, we discuss state-of-the-art experimental and theoretical studies on superlubric thin solid carbon films, particularly those using C₆₀.

The prediction of changes in the global environment, particularly the reliable prediction of global climate changes is necessary for the development of a sustainable society and to reduce the incidence of natural disasters caused by climate change. The reliability of climate prediction can only be ensured through monitoring the actual climate of a global scale. The ocean occupies 70% of the surface of the Earth and has a 1000 times the heat content of the atmosphere. The ocean is thus the most crucial element of the global climate system, and the global monitoring of the ocean is essential for the reliable prediction of global climate change. The ocean research community has been focusing its efforts on the construction of a global ocean monitoring system since the 1980s.