Method and apparatus for producing a streaming Raman image of nucleation, aggregation, and chemical interaction

• US 7,580,126 B2
• Filed: 11/08/2005
• Issued: 08/25/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chemimage Corporation
• Original Assignee: Chemimage Corporation
• Inventors: Tuschel, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Toatley, Jr.; Gregory J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nur; Abdullahi
• Application Number:
  US11/268,590
• Publication Number:
  US 20060126062A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,386 Days
• Field of Search: 356/301, 356/346, 356/436
• US Class Current: 356/301
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/2889 Rapid scan spectrometers; Time resolved spectrometry
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/44 Raman spectrometry; Scattering spectrometry ; Fluorescence spectrometry
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/3563 for analysing solids; Preparation of samples therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/3577 for analysing liquids, e.g. polluted water
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/65 Raman scattering

Abstract

The present disclosure describes methods and apparatus to produce a streaming image of a sample during a time period when an attribute of the sample is changing. The streaming image can be viewed in such a manner so as to be able to follow a visible change in an attribute of the sample. The sample may be undergoing nucleation, aggregation, or chemical interaction. The present disclosure also describes methods and apparatus to determine a change in an attribute of a sample by detecting, analyzing, and comparing spectra of the sample taken at different times during the time period when the attribute of the sample is changing. The sample may be undergoing nucleation, aggregation, or chemical interaction.

Claims

1. A method for producing a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a sample for which an attribute of said sample changes as a function of time;

(b) receiving and filtering scattered photons from said sample;

(c) detecting a first group of said filtered photons with a photon detector at time t₁ to thereby obtain a first data stream representative of a first spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image;

(d) detecting a second group of said filtered photons with a photon detector at time t₂ to thereby obtain a second data stream representative of a second spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, wherein said time t₂ occurs a predetermined amount of time (“

Δ

t”

) after time said t₁; and

(e) sequentially displaying said first data stream and said second data stream to thereby produce a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of:

spatial displacement, chemical interaction, chemical state, physical state, phase, growth, shrinkage, diffusion, chemical decomposition, chemical metabolization, and physical strain.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of crystallization, dissolution, nucleation, and aggregation.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of defect density, purity, size, and morphology.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said sample is a pharmaceutically active chemical selected from the group consisting of:

acetaminophen; and

nabumetone.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said sample is a biological material selected from the group consisting of:

protein, amyloid, and prion.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein said sample is a crystal material selected from the group consisting of:

covalent crystal, ionic crystal, metallic crystal, and molecular crystal.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said sample is a semiconductor material.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein 0 sec.<

Δ

t≦

1 sec.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein 1 sec.≦

Δ

t≦

30 sec.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein 1 min.≦

Δ

≦

5 min.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein 0 min.<

Δ

t≦

10 min.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of receiving and filtering scattered photons from said sample includes using a filter selected from the group consisting of:

liquid crystal tunable filter, acoustic optical filter, and imaging interferometer.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of receiving and filtering scattered photons from said sample includes selectively collecting polarized scattered photons from said sample.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein said scattered photons from said sample are Raman scattered photons.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of (a1) illuminating said sample with illuminating photons to thereby produce said scattered photons from said sample.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein said illuminating photons are substantially monochromatic.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein said illuminating photons have a wavelength in the range of 200 nanometers to 1100 nanometers.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein said illuminating photons are polarized.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein said illuminating photons strike said sample at an angle that is oblique to a plane along which said sample is substantially oriented.

21. The method of claim 16 wherein said illuminating photons strike said sample on a side of said sample other than a side that is closest to said photon detector.

22. The method of claim 1 wherein said photon detector is selected from the group consisting of:

charge coupled device (“

CCD”

), complementary metal oxide semiconductor (“

CMOS”

) camera, avalanche photodiode array, and focal plane array.

23. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of displaying includes displaying said first data stream and said second data stream so that said streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image appears in a visually-readable form.

24. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

(f) storing said first data stream;

(g) storing said second data stream; and

(h) combining said first data stream and said second data stream.

25. The method of claim 1 wherein said photon detector comprises a first photon detector and a second photon detector, said first photon detector detecting said first group of filtered photons and said second photon detector detecting said second group of filtered photons.

99. The method of claim 16 wherein said illuminating photons are produced by a device selected from the group consisting of:

laser, light emitting diode, and white light source, wherein said device is used in conjunction with a grating or wavelength tunable filter.

26. A method for producing a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a sample comprising a molecular crystal for which an attribute of said sample changes as a function of time, wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of;

crystallization, dissolution, nucleation, and aggregation;

(b) illuminating said sample with substantially monochromatic photons produced by a laser thereby producing Raman scattered photons from said sample, wherein the wavelength of said substantially monochromatic photons are in the range of 200 nanometers to 1100 nanometers;

(c) filtering said Raman scattered photons using a liquid crystal tunable filter;

(d) detecting a first group of said filtered photons with a charge coupled device at time t₁ to thereby obtain a first data stream representative of a first spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image;

(e) storing said first data stream;

(f) detecting a second group of said filtered photons with a charge coupled device at time t₂ to thereby obtain a second data stream representative of a second spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, wherein time t₂ occurs less than 10 minutes after said time t₁; and

(g) sequentially displaying said first data stream and second data stream to thereby produce a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image that appears in a visually-readable form.

27. A method for producing a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a sample comprising a solvent and a solute for which an attribute of said sample changes as a function of time, wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of;

crystallization, dissolution, nucleation, and aggregation;

(b) illuminating said sample with substantially monochromatic photons produced by a laser thereby producing Raman scattered photons from said sample, wherein the wavelength of said substantially monochromatic photons are in the range of 200 nanometers to 1100 nanometers;

(c) filtering said Raman scattered photons using a liquid crystal tunable filter;

(d) detecting a first group of said filtered photons with a charge coupled device at time t₁ to thereby obtain a first data stream representative of a first spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image;

(e) storing said first data stream;

(f) detecting a second group of said filtered photons with a charge coupled device at time t₂ to thereby obtain a second data stream representative of a second spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, wherein time t₂ occurs less than 10 minutes after time t₁; and

(g) sequentially displaying said first data stream and second data stream to thereby produce a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image that appears in a visually-readable form.

28. A method for producing a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a sample comprising a liquid for which an attribute of said sample changes as a function of time, wherein the attribute is selected from the group consisting of;

crystallization, dissolution, nucleation, and aggregation;

(b) illuminating said sample with substantially monochromatic photons produced by a laser thereby producing Raman scattered photons from said sample, wherein the wavelength of said substantially monochromatic photons are in the range of 200 nanometers to 1100 nanometers;

(c) filtering said Raman scattered photons using a liquid crystal tunable filter;

(d) detecting a first group of the filtered photons with a charge coupled device at time t₁ to thereby obtain a first data stream representative of a first spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image;

(e) storing said first data stream;

(f) detecting a second group of said filtered photons with a charge coupled device at time t₂ to thereby obtain a second data stream representative of a second spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, wherein time t₂ occurs less than 10 minutes after time t₁; and

(g) sequentially displaying said first data stream and second data stream to thereby produce a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image that appears in a visually-readable form.

29. A method for producing a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a sample for which an attribute of said sample changes as a function of time;

(b) filtering photons emitted by said sample;

(c) detecting a first group of said filtered photons with a photon detector at time t₁ to thereby obtain a first data stream representative of a first spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image;

(d) detecting a second group of the filtered photons with a photon detector at time t₂ to thereby obtain a second data stream representative of a second spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, wherein time t₂ occurs a predetermined amount of time (“

Δ

t”

) after time t₁; and

(e) sequentially displaying said first data stream and said second data stream to thereby produce a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of:

spatial displacement, chemical interaction, chemical state, physical state, phase, growth, shrinkage, diffusion, chemical decomposition, chemical metabolization, and physical strain.

31. The method of claim 29 wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of crystallization, dissolution, nucleation, and aggregation.

32. The method of claim 29 wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of defect density, purity, size, and morphology.

33. The method of claim 29 wherein said sample is a pharmaceutically active chemical selected from the group consisting of:

acetaminophen and nabutemone.

34. The method of claim 29 wherein said sample is a biological material selected from the group consisting of:

protein, amyloid, and prion.

35. The method of claim 29 wherein said sample is a crystal material selected from the group consisting of:

covalent crystal, ionic crystal, metallic crystal, and molecular crystal.

36. The method of claim 29 wherein said sample is a semiconductor material.

37. The method of claim 29 wherein 0 sec.<

Δ

t≦

1 sec.

38. The method of claim 29 wherein 1 sec.≦

Δ

t≦

30 sec.

39. The method of claim 29 wherein 1 min.≦

Δ

t≦

5 min.

40. The method of claim 29 wherein 0 min.<

Δ

t≦

10 min.

41. The method of claim 29 wherein said step of filtering photons emitted by said sample includes using a filter selected from the group consisting of:

liquid crystal tunable filter, acoustic optical filter, and imaging interferometer.

42. The method of claim 29 wherein said step of filtering photons emitted by said sample includes selectively collecting polarized photons emitted by said sample.

43. The method of claim 29 wherein said photon detector is selected from the group consisting of:

charge coupled device (“

CCD”

), complementary metal oxide semiconductor (“

CMOS”

) camera, avalanche photodiode array, and focal plane array.

44. The method of claim 29 wherein said step of displaying includes displaying said first data stream and said second data stream so that the streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image appears in a visually-readable form.

45. The method of claim 29 further comprising the steps of:

(f) storing said first data stream;

(g) storing said second data stream; and

(h) combining said first data stream and said second data stream.

46. The method of claim 29 wherein said photon detector comprises a first photon detector and a second photon detector, said first photon detector detecting said first group of filtered photons and said second photon detector detecting said second group of filtered photons.

47. A method for producing a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a sample comprising a molecular crystal for which an attribute of said sample changes as a function of time, wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of;

crystallization, dissolution, nucleation, and aggregation;

(b) filtering photons emitted by said sample using a liquid crystal tunable filter;

(c) detecting a first group of said filtered photons with a charge coupled device at time t₁ to thereby obtain a first data stream representative of a first spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image;

(d) storing said first data stream;

(e) detecting a second group of said filtered photons with a charge coupled device at time t₂ to thereby obtain a second data stream representative of a second spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, wherein time t₂ occurs less than 10 minutes after time t₁; and

(f) sequentially displaying said first data stream and said second data stream to thereby produce a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image that appears in a visually-readable form.

48. A method for producing a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a sample comprising a solvent and a solute for which an attribute of said sample changes as a function of time, wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of;

crystallization, dissolution, nucleation, and aggregation;

(b) filtering photons emitted by said sample using a liquid crystal tunable filter;

(c) detecting a first group of said filtered photons with a charge coupled device at time t₁ to thereby obtain a first data stream representative of a first spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image;

(d) storing said first data stream;

(e) detecting a second group of said filtered photons with a charge coupled device at time t₂ to thereby obtain a second data stream representative of a second spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, wherein time t₂ occurs less than 10 minutes after time t₁; and

(f) sequentially displaying said first data stream and said second data stream to thereby produce a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image that appears in a visually-readable form.

49. A method for producing a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a sample comprising a liquid for which an attribute of said sample changes as a function of time, wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of;

crystallization, dissolution, nucleation, and aggregation;

(b) filtering photons emitted by said sample using a liquid crystal tunable filter;

(c) detecting a first group of said filtered photons with a charge coupled device at time t₁ to thereby obtain a first data stream representative of a first spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image;

(d) storing said first data stream;

(e) detecting a second group of said filtered photons with a charge coupled device at time t₂ to thereby obtain a second data stream representative of a second spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, wherein time t₂ occurs less than 10 minutes after time t₁; and

(f) sequentially displaying said first data stream and said second data stream to thereby produce a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image that appears in a visually-readable form.

50. An apparatus for producing a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, comprising:

a sample for which an attribute of said sample changes as a function of time;

a filter for filtering scattered photons from said sample;

at least one photon detector for detecting a first group of said filtered photons at time t₁ to thereby obtain a first data stream representative of a first spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, and for detecting a second group of said filtered photons at time t₂ to thereby obtain a second data stream representative of a second spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, wherein time t₂ occurs a predetermined amount of time (“

Δ

t”

) after time t₁; and

display means for sequentially displaying said first data stream and said second data stream to thereby produce a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image.

51. The apparatus of claim 50 wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of:

spatial displacement, chemical interaction, chemical state, physical state, phase, growth, shrinkage, diffusion, chemical decomposition, chemical metabolization, and physical strain.

52. The apparatus of claim 50 wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of crystallization, dissolution, nucleation, and aggregation.

53. The apparatus of claim 50 wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of defect density, purity, size, and morphology.

54. The apparatus of claim 50 wherein said sample is a pharmaceutically active chemical selected from the group consisting of:

acetaminophen and nabumetone.

55. The apparatus of claim 50 wherein said sample is a biological material selected from the group consisting of:

protein, amyloid, and prion.

56. The apparatus of claim 50 wherein the sample is a crystal material selected from the group consisting of:

covalent crystal, ionic crystal, metallic crystal, and molecular crystal.

57. The apparatus of claim 50 wherein said sample is a semiconductor material.

58. The apparatus of claim 50 wherein 0 sec.<

Δ

t≦

1 sec.

59. The apparatus of claim 50 wherein 1 sec.≦

Δ

t≦

30 sec.

60. The apparatus of claim 50 wherein 1 min.≦

Δ

t≦

5 min.

61. The apparatus of claim 50 wherein 0 min.<

Δ

t≦

10 min.

62. The apparatus of claim 50 wherein said filter is selected from the group consisting of:

liquid crystal tunable filter, acoustic optical filter, and imaging interferometer.

63. The apparatus of claim 50 wherein said filter selectively collects polarized scattered photons from said sample.

64. The apparatus of claim 50 wherein said scattered photons from said sample are Raman scattered photons.

65. The apparatus of claim 50 further comprising:

a photon source for illuminating said sample with illuminating photons to thereby produce said scattered photons from said sample.

66. The apparatus of claim 65 wherein the illuminating photons are substantially monochromatic.

67. The apparatus of claim 66 wherein said illuminating photons have a wavelength in the range of 200 nanometers to 1100 nanometers.

68. The apparatus of claim 65 wherein said illuminating photons are polarized.

69. The apparatus of claim 65 wherein said illuminating photons strike said sample at an angle that is oblique to a plane along which said sample is substantially oriented.

70. The apparatus of claim 65 wherein said illuminating photons strike said sample on a side of said sample other than a side that is closest to said at least one photon detector.

71. The apparatus of claim 50 wherein said photon detector is selected from the group consisting of:

charge coupled device (“

CCD”

), complementary metal oxide semiconductor (“

CMOS”

) camera, avalanche photodiode array, and focal plane array.

72. The apparatus of claim 50 wherein said display means displays said first data stream and said second data stream so that the streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image appears in a visually-readable form.

73. The apparatus of claim 50 further comprising:

means for storing said first data stream and said second data stream; and

combining means for combining said first data stream and said second data stream.

74. The apparatus of claim 50 wherein a first photon detector detects said first group of filtered photons and a second photon detector detects said second group of filtered photons.

100. The apparatus of claim 65 wherein said illuminating photons are produced by a photon source selected from the group consisting of:

laser, light emitting diode, and white light source, wherein said photon source is used in conjunction with a grating or wavelength tunable filter.

75. An apparatus for producing a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, comprising:

a sample comprising a molecular crystal for which an attribute of said sample changes as a function of time, wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of;

crystallization, dissolution, nucleation, and aggregation;

a laser for illuminating said sample with substantially monochromatic photons thereby producing Raman scattered photons from said sample, wherein the wavelength of said substantially monochromatic photons are in the range of 200 nanometers to 1100 nanometers;

a liquid crystal tunable filter for filtering said Raman scattered photons;

a charge coupled device for detecting a first group of said filtered photons at time t₁ to thereby obtain a first data stream representative of a first spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image and for detecting a second group of said filtered photons at time t₂ to thereby obtain a second data stream representative of a second spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, wherein time t₂ occurs less that 10 minutes after time t₁;

storage means for storing said first data stream; and

display means for sequentially displaying said first data stream and said second data stream to thereby produce a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image that appears in a visually-readable form.

76. An apparatus for producing a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, comprising:

a sample comprising a solvent and a solute for which an attribute of said sample changes as a function of time, wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of;

crystallization, dissolution, nucleation, and aggregation;

a laser for illuminating said sample with substantially monochromatic photons thereby producing Raman scattered photons from said sample, wherein the wavelength of said substantially monochromatic photons are in the range of 200 nanometers to 1100 nanometers;

a liquid crystal tunable filter for filtering said Raman scattered photons;

a charge coupled device for detecting a first group of said filtered photons at time t₁ to thereby obtain a first data stream representative of a first spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image and for detecting a second group of said filtered photons at time t₂ to thereby obtain a second data stream representative of a second spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, wherein time t₂ occurs less that 10 minutes after time t₁;

storage means for storing said first data stream; and

display means for sequentially displaying said first data stream and said second data stream to thereby produce a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image that appears m a visually-readable form.

77. An apparatus for producing a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, comprising:

a sample comprising a liquid for which an attribute of said sample changes as a function of time, wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of;

crystallization, dissolution, nucleation, and aggregation;

a laser for illuminating said sample with substantially monochromatic photons thereby producing Raman scattered photons from said sample, wherein the wavelength of said substantially monochromatic photons are in the range of 200 nanometers to 1100 nanometers;

a liquid crystal tunable filter for filtering said Raman scattered photons;

a charge coupled device for detecting a first group of said filtered photons at time t₁ to thereby obtain a first data stream representative of a first spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image and for detecting a second group of said filtered photons at time t₂ to thereby obtain a second data stream representative of a second spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, wherein time occurs less that 10 minutes after time t₁;

storage means for storing said first data stream; and

display means for sequentially displaying said first data stream and said second data stream to thereby produce a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image that appears in a visually-readable form.

78. An apparatus for producing a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, comprising:

a sample for which an attribute of said sample changes as a function of time;

a filter for filtering photons emitted by said sample;

a photon detector for detecting a first group of said filtered photons at time t₁ to thereby obtain a first data stream representative of a first spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image and for detecting a second group of said filtered photons at time t₂ to thereby obtain a second data stream representative of a second spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, wherein time t₂ occurs a predetermined amount of time (“

Δ

t”

) after time t₁; and

display means for sequentially displaying said first data stream and said second data stream to thereby produce a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image.

79. The apparatus of claim 78 wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of:

spatial displacement, chemical interaction, chemical state, physical state, phase, growth, shrinkage, diffusion, chemical decomposition, chemical metabolization, and physical strain.

80. The apparatus of claim 78 wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of crystallization, dissolution, nucleation, and aggregation.

81. The apparatus of claim 78 wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of defect density, purity, size, and morphology.

82. The apparatus of claim 78 wherein said sample is a pharmaceutically active chemical selected from the group consisting of:

acetaminophen and nabumetone.

83. The apparatus of claim 78 wherein said sample is a biological material selected from the group consisting of:

protein, amyloid, and prion.

84. The apparatus of claim 78 wherein said sample is a crystal material selected from the group consisting of:

covalent crystal, ionic crystal, metallic crystal, and molecular crystal.

85. The apparatus of claim 78 wherein said sample is a semiconductor material.

86. The apparatus of claim 78 wherein 0 sec.<

Δ

t≦

1 sec.

87. The apparatus of claim 78 wherein 1 sec.≦

Δ

t≦

30 sec.

88. The apparatus of claim 78 wherein 1 min.≦

Δ

t≦

5 min.

89. The apparatus of claim 78 wherein 0 min.<

Δ

t≦

10 min.

90. The apparatus of claim 78 wherein said step of filtering photons emitted by said sample includes using a filter selected from the group consisting of:

liquid crystal tunable filter, acoustic optical filter, and imaging interferometer.

91. The apparatus of claim 78 wherein said step of filtering photons emitted by said sample includes selectively collecting polarized photons emitted by said sample.

92. The apparatus of claim 78 wherein said photon detector is selected from the group consisting of:

charge coupled device (“

CCD”

), complementary metal oxide semiconductor (“

CMOS”

) camera, avalanche photodiode array, and focal plane array.

93. The apparatus of claim 78 wherein said step of displaying includes displaying said first data stream and said second data stream so that the streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image appears in a visually-readable form.

94. The apparatus of claim 78 further comprising:

means for storing said first data stream and said second data stream; and

combining means for combining said first data stream and said second data stream.

95. The apparatus of claim 78 wherein said photon detector comprises a first photon detector and a second photon detector, said first photon detector detecting said first group of filtered photons and said second photon detector detecting said second group of filtered photons.

96. An apparatus for producing a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, comprising:

a sample comprising a molecular crystal for which an attribute of said sample changes as a function of time, wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of;

crystallization, dissolution, nucleation, and aggregation;

a liquid crystal tunable filter for filtering photons emitted by said sample;

a charge coupled device for detecting a first group of said filtered photons at time t₁ to thereby obtain a first data stream representative of a first spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image and for detecting a second group of said filtered photons at time t₂ to thereby obtain a second data stream representative of a second spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, wherein time t₂ occurs less that 10 minutes after time t₁;

storage means for storing said first data stream; and

display means for sequentially displaying said first data stream and said second data stream to thereby produce a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image that appears in a visually-readable form.

97. An apparatus for producing a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, comprising:

a sample comprising a solvent and a solute for which an attribute of said sample changes as a function of time, wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of;

crystallization, dissolution, nucleation, and aggregation;

a liquid crystal tunable filter for filtering photons emitted by said sample;

a charge coupled device for detecting a first group of said filtered photons at time t₁ to thereby obtain a first data stream representative of a first spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image and for detecting a second group of said filtered photons at time t₂ to thereby obtain a second data stream representative of a second spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, wherein time t₂ occurs less that 10 minutes after time t₁;

storage means for storing said first data stream; and

display means for sequentially displaying said first data stream and said second data stream to thereby produce a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image that appears in a visually-readable form.

98. An apparatus for producing a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, comprising:

a sample comprising a liquid for which an attribute of said sample changes as a function of time, wherein said attribute is selected from the group consisting of;

crystallization, dissolution, nucleation, and aggregation;

a liquid crystal tunable filter for filtering photons emitted by said sample;

a charge coupled device for detecting a first group of said filtered photons at time t₁ to thereby obtain a first data stream representative of a first spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image and for detecting a second group of said filtered photons at time t₂ to thereby obtain a second data stream representative of a second spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image, wherein time t₂ occurs less that 10 minutes after time t₁;

storage means for storing said first data stream; and

display means for sequentially displaying said first data stream and said second data stream to thereby produce a streaming spatially accurate wavelength-resolved image that appears in a visually-readable form.