Question

As an important strategic resource, THz science will contribute immeasurably to the life sciences and clinical medicine. Justify this statement by providing sufficient and applications from the literature survey available

Answer 1

In the pharmaceutical industries, THz science enables nondestructive, internal, chemical analysis of tablets, capsules and other dosage forms. All the widely used methods( atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) )to study tablet integrity and performance are either destructive to the tablet or cannot be readily implemented for rapid on-line measurement.

Using the Terahertz image it is easy to perform 3D analysis on tablets. It can enable to determine coating integrity and thickness, detect and identify localized chemical or physical structure such as cracks or chemical agglomeration within a core and to interrogate embedded layers (such as an interface between two layers) for delamination and integrity.

Terahertz measurements can also deploy for nondestructive determination of coating thickness, requiring little or no calibration for most coatings and substrates. It can reveal the thickness, uniformity, distribution, and coverage of simple and complex coating. TPI(Terahertz Pulsed Imaging) is a completely non-invasive and non-destructive pharmaceutical analysis tool using extremely low power, ultrashort pulses of electromagnetic radiation at lower frequencies than infrared (1 THz = 1012 Hz).

Terahertz spectroscopy has already proved useful to investigation of the crystalline state of drugs e.g. Polymorphism.It can also differentiate between different hydrate forms which enables it do a qualitative and qualitative analysis of crystalline and amorphous materials. The Terahertz spectroscopy can cover fast relaxation kinetics on fs(femtoseconds) time scale during which a protein rearranges its overall structure which makes them useful in studying proteins fold, and catalyse reactions.

In clinical medicine, Terahertz pulse imaging (TPI) is( a noninvasive, coherent optical imaging modality) is used in the detection of  Basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Research suggests that TPI will  provide both structural and functional information, and helpful in  idistinguishing type, lateral spread, and depth of tumors.Terahertz technology has the potential to greatly improve conventional biopsy and associated surgery by more precisely identifying the areas to be excised thereby reducing the number of procedures and facilitating earlier and more accurate diagnosis.

In oral health care, dental carries or tooth decay is one of the most commn problemXray is being the most common used method to diagnos the problem but it can only diagnose the problem at a later stage .Terahertz imaging can distinguish between the different types of tissue in a human tooth; detect carries at an early stage in the enamel layers of human teeth and monitor early erosion of the enamel at the surface of the tooth.