Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. A method for performing a binding assay, comprising:providing tunable FIR irradiation from a source capable of continuous-wave output;removing X rays from the irradiation;irradiating at least one biological sample with the tunable FIR irradiation from which X rays have been removed;providing compounds;allowing the biological sample to bind to at least one compound; andmeasuring a binding affinity between the at least one biological sample and the at least one compound. 2. The assay of claim 1, wherein the irradiating disrupts an interaction between the biological sample and the at least one compound. 3. The assay of claim 1, wherein the compounds are provided in a library. 4. A method of detecting an impurity in an article, comprising:providing FIR irradiation having a characteristic that is selective for the impurity, the FIR irradiation provided by a source capable of continuous-wave output;removing X rays from the irradiation;irradiating at least a component of the article with the irradiation from which X rays have been removed; anddetecting a residual irradiation emitted from at least the component of the article. 5. An imaging method, comprising:providing tunable FIR irradiation from a source capable of continuous-wave output;removing X rays from the irradiation;irradiating at least a component of a biological sample with the irradiation from which X rays have been removed;detecting a residual irradiation emitted from at least the component of the biological sample; andforming an image of at least the component of the biological sample. 6. A far infrared (FIR) irradiation device, comprising:an FIR source producing an FIR irradiation having a tunable wavelength, the source being capable of continuous-wave output; anda filter receiving the irradiation from the source and removing X-rays, if any, from the FIR irradiation. 7. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6, wherein the FIR source comprises a free electron laser. 8. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6, wherein the filter comprises an off-axis collimating reflector sized, shaped, and/or positioned to remove X-rays from the irradiation. 9. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6, wherein the filter comprises a first mirror sized, shaped, and/or positioned to remove X-rays from the irradiation. 10. The FIR irradiation device of claim 9, wherein the filter further comprises a second mirror. 11. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6, wherein the irradiation has a pulse shape comprising at least one of rectangular, triangular, sawtooth, sinusoidal, rectified, and constant. 12. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6 wherein the irradiation has continuously tunable power. 13. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6 wherein the irradiation has continuously tunable wavelength. 14. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6 wherein the irradiation has continuously tunable bandwidth. 15. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6 wherein the irradiation has continuously tunable pulse rate. 16. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6 wherein the irradiation has continuously tunable pulse shape. 17. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6 wherein the irradiation has continuously tunable duty cycle. 18. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6 wherein the irradiation has an irradiance in the range of about 1 milliWatt per square centimeter to about 1000 milliWatts per square centimeter. 19. The FIR irradiation device of claim 18, wherein the irradiation has an irradiance of about 100 milliWatts per square centimeter. 20. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6 wherein the irradiation has a power in the range of about 1 picoWatt to about 1 Watt. 21. The FIR irradiation device of claim 20 wherein the irradiation has a power in the range of about 0.1 microWatts to about 10 milliWatts. 22. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6 wherein the irradiation has a wavelength in the range of about 10 microns to about 3,000 microns. 23. The FIR irradiation device of claim 22 wherein the irradiation has a wavelength in the range of about 60 microns to about 1,000 microns. 24. The FIR irradiation device of claim 23 wherein the irradiation has a wavelength in the range of about 100 microns to about 500 microns. 25. The FIR irradiation device of claim 24 wherein the irradiation has a wavelength in range of about 430 microns to about 480 microns. 26. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6 wherein the irradiation has a duration in the range of about 1 microsecond to about 1 hour. 27. The FIR irradiation device of claim 26 wherein the irradiation has a duration in the range of about 100 microseconds to about 1 second. 28. The FIR irradiation device of claim 26 wherein the irradiation has a duration in the range of about 1 second to about 1 minute. 29. The FIR irradiation device of claim 26 wherein the irradiation has a duration in the range of about 1 minute to about 10 minutes. 30. The FIR irradiation device of claim 29 wherein the irradiation has a duration of about 3 minutes. 31. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6 wherein the irradiation has a bandwidth equal to approximately 0.03 times a center wavenumber of the irradiation. 32. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6 wherein the irradiation has a bandwidth in the range of about 0.01 cm−1 to about 100 cm−1. 33. The FIR irradiation device of claim 32 wherein the irradiation has a bandwidth in the range of about 0.01 cm−1 to about 1 cm−1. 34. The FIR irradiation device of claim 33 wherein the irradiation has a bandwidth in the range of about 0.6 cm−1. 35. The FIR irradiation device of claim 32, wherein the irradiation has a bandwidth in the range of about 1 cm−1 to about 100 cm−1. 36. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6, wherein the irradiation has a pulse rate in the range from continuous wave to about 1 GigaHertz. 37. The FIR irradiation device of claim 36, wherein the irradiation has a pulse rate in the range from about 25 Hz to about 55 Hz. 38. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6, wherein the irradiation has a duty cycle in the range of about 5 per cent to about 100 per cent. 39. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6, wherein the duty cycle is in the range of about 10 per cent to about 15 per cent. 40. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6, further comprising a sample cell, receiving the irradiation from the filter. 41. The FIR irradiation device of claim 40, wherein the sample cell is formed at least in part of a material selected from the group consisting of polymethylpentene, polyester, polypropylene, polyethylene, single crystal quartz, styrene, sapphire, and any combination thereof. 42. The FIR irradiation device of claim 40 wherein the sample cell is adapted to receive a biological sample. 43. The FIR irradiation device of claim 42 wherein the irradiation is tuned to couple selectively with a component of the biological sample. 44. The FIR irradiation device of claim 43 wherein the component comprises an organelle. 45. The FIR irradiation device of claim 44 wherein the organelle is selected from the group consisting of a nucleus, a cytoskeleton, a centriole, an endoplasmic reticulum, a golgi apparatus, a mitochondrion, a chloroplast, a cell membrane, a nuclear membrane, a cell wall, a lysosome, a vacuole, a vesicle, a ribosome, a peroxisome, and any combination thereof. 46. The FIR irradiation device of claim 43, wherein the component is selected from the group consisting of a mitotic spindle, a DNA polymerase complex, a transcription complex, a protein replication complex, a gene, a centromere, and any combination thereof. 47. The FIR irradiation device of claim 46, wherein the gene is selected from the group consisting of an immunoglobulin gene, a T cell receptor gene, a p53 gene, a retinoblastoma gene, a proto-oncogene, and any combination thereof. 48. The FIR irradiation device of claim 43, wherein the component is selected from the group consisting of a cytoskeleton, a centriole, a nuclear lamin, an intermediate filament, a neurofilament, a nucleic acid, a lipid, a fatty acid, a triglyceride, a phospholipid, a steroid, a polyisoprenoid, a glycolipid, a peptide, a polypeptide, an amino acid, an amino acid-coupled transfer RNA, a nucleotide, a nucleoside, a protein, a beat-shock protein, a histone, an enzyme, a lipoprotein, a monosaccharide, a disaccharide, a polysaccharide, a lipopolysaccharide, a proteoglycan, a glycoprotein, a water molecule, a water cluster, a region of gelled vicinal water, actin, myosin, titin, troponin, tropomyosin, a microtubule, a microfilament, and any combination thereof. 49. The FIR irradiation device of claim 43, wherein the biological sample is an organism. 50. The FIR irradiation device of claim 49, wherein the organism is a microorganism. 51. The FIR irradiation device of claim 43, wherein the component comprises an organ. 52. The FIR irradiation device of claim 51, wherein the organ is selected from the group consisting of skin, a brain, a meninx, an artery, a vein, an eye, an optic nerve, a cochlea, an olfactory nerve, an oculomotor nerve, a trochlear nerve, a trigeminal nerve, an abducent nerve, a facial nerve, a vestibulocochlear nerve, a glossopharyngeal nerve, a vagus nerve, a spinal accessory nerve, a hypoglossal nerve, a brainstem, a spinal cord, a nerve root, a neuron, a bone, a muscle, a nasopharynx, an oropharynx, an esophagus, a stomach, a duodenum, a jejunum, an ileum, a colon, a rectum, an anus, a heart, an aorta, a femoral artery, a popliteal artery, a common carotid artery, an internal carotid artery, a capillary, blood, a thymus, a thyroid, a parathyroid gland, an adrenal gland, a pituitary gland, a kidney, a lung, a trachea, a brochiole, an alveolus, a pancreas, a hand, an arm, a forearm, a leg, a foot, a thigh, a ligament, a tendon, a cartilage, connective tissue, a hair follicle, a liver, a lymph node, a gallbladder, a bile duct, a lymphatic duct, a tongue, a spleen, a ureter, a urethra, a prostate, a uterus, an ovary, a testis, a fallopian tube, a reproductive organ, a bladder, and any combination thereof. 53. The FIR irradiation device of claim 42 wherein the biological sample comprises a neoplasm. 54. The FIR irradiation device of claim 40 further comprising a lens that receives the irradiation from the filter and focuses the irradiation upon at least a portion of the sample cell. 55. The FIR irradiation device of claim 40 wherein the sample cell comprises a microarray. 56. The FIR irradiation device of claim 40 wherein the sample cell comprises a target. 57. The FIR irradiation device of claim 56 wherein the target receives substantially all of the irradiation emitted from the filter. 58. The FIR irradiation device of claim 57 wherein the target has a diameter in the range of about 1 micron to about 2 meters. 59. The FIR irradiation device of claim 58 wherein the target has a diameter in the range of about 1 micron to about 1 millimeter. 60. The FIR irradiation device of claim 59 wherein the target has a diameter in the range of about 10 microns to 100 microns. 61. The FIR irradiation device of claim 59 wherein the target has a diameter in the range of about 100 microns to 1 millimeter. 62. The FIR irradiation device of claim 58 wherein the target has a diameter in the range of about 1 centimeter to about 10 centimeters. 63. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6 further comprising a detector, receiving a residual quantity of the irradiation. 64. The FIR irradiation device of claim 63 wherein a characteristic of the irradiation is determined at least in part in response to feedback from the detector. 65. The FIR irradiation device of claim 64 wherein the characteristic of the irradiation is power, irradiance, wavelength, duration, pulse rate, pulse shape, duty cycle, or bandwidth. 66. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6 wherein the source and the filter are disposed in a common housing. 67. The FIR irradiation device of claim 66 wherein the common housing comprises an output lens. 68. The FIR irradiation device of claim 67 wherein the output lens collimates the irradiation. 69. The FIR irradiation device of claim 6, wherein the filter is configured to remove substantially all X rays from the FIR irradiation.