Wednesday, 04 November 1998 12:00

JENOPTIK Optical Systems, Inc., under contract with Teledyne Brown Engineering (TBE) has delivered four space-qualified Advanced Optical Monitoring System (AOMS) for the Observable Protein Crystal Growth Apparatus (OPCGA).

The third-generation AOMS is the heart of the space-based OPCGA instrument being built by TBE for Dr. Alexander McPherson of the University of California at Irvine (UCI). The AOMS is a compact, solid-optics Mach-Zender interferometer that measures and records phase data of a solution about growing protein crystals.

As protein molecules contact each other and form a crystal, the protein concentration is depleted and causes a change in the index of refraction of the fluid. Proteins are very large molecules and diffuse through the solution very slowly. As a crystal grows, molecules are incorporated from the solution faster than the rate of diffusion. The phase-measuring AOMS helps evaluate how temperature, concentration, and pH differences promote crystal growth. The measurements are best performed in a space environment where gravitational effects are eliminated and the depletion zones are preserved.

The four Advanced Optical Monitoring Systems designed by TBE and built by Coastal Optical Systems consists of 26 optical elements including fiber collimator, solid Mach-Zender interferometer, Fourier transform optics, phase modulator and cameras. The entire operational interferometer is no larger than a calculator and fits into the palm of your hand. TBE took delivery of the space qualified assemblies in September, 1998.