The Second Order Non-linear Imaging of Chiral Crystals (SONICC) imager uses a femtosecond pulsed laser to exploit the frequency-doubling effect found in the vast majority of protein crystals and produces high-contrast images with negligible background signal.
The unique imaging properties of SONICC allow for crystal detection in almost any optical environment including opaque and turbid environments. Only chiral crystals, such as proteins, produce a second harmonic signal and will be detected in the SHG mode. This effect is so precise that SONICC can detect micro crystals (<1 µm) and distinguish between crystal showers and amorphous aggregates.
SONICC was invented by Garth Simpson's group at Purdue University and is exclusively licensed by Formulatrix.
SONICC has two modes of imaging, Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) and UltraViolet Two-Photon Excited Fluorescence (UV-TPEF).
SHG looks for chiral crystals by imaging the sample with IR light, which detects green SHG. UV-TPEF images a sample with a green laser light to try to excite florescence for protein detection. Together these two modes allow you to differentiate aggregates from crystals (SHG mode) and salt from protein (UV-TPEF mode).
SONICC is a microscope that uses a laser beam to scan over the sample and then collects the signal generated to create an image.
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