TY - JOUR
A1 - Prakash, Swayam
A1 - Bell, Jérémy
A1 - Rurack, Knut
T1 - Rapid Onsite Detection of Fecal Contamination in Water Using a Portable Fluorometric Assay
N2 - Fecal pollution in water poses significant health risks, especially when contaminated sources are used for drinking and food production. Traditional water quality testing methods are expensive, slow, and require skilled personnel, limiting their accessibility. This work addresses these issues by developing a portable fluorometric assay for the detection of the fecal indicator pigment urobilin (UB). The assay uses silane-functionalized glass fiber strips impregnated with zinc chloride, providing a ‘drop-&-detect’ approach with enhanced fluorescence response mediated by the unique complexation properties of ZnCl2 and UB. This approach allows for the detection of UB at sub-nanomolar concentrations in less than 1 min using a 3D-printed setup with miniaturized optical components powered by a smartphone with its camera as a detector. The results validated with a benchtop fluorometer show the effectiveness of this method. The successful application of this userfriendly, rapid, and sensitive assay to real water samples from three rivers and the influx and efflux of a wastewater treatment plant advances field-based water quality monitoring, meets the WHO’s ASSURED criteria, and supports progress toward the global clean water and sanitation goals.
KW - Fecal pigment
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Signal amplification
KW - Surface chemistry
KW - Water quality testing
PY - 2026
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-655543
DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.5c03922
SN - 2379-3694
VL - 11
SP - 1
EP - 9
PB - American Chemical Society
CY - Washington, D.C.
AN - OPUS4-65554
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Shovo, Redoy Gazi
A1 - Thünemann, Andreas
A1 - Katcharava, Zviadi
A1 - Marinvo, Anja
A1 - Hoppe, Richard
A1 - Woltersdorf, Georg
A1 - Du, Mengxue
A1 - Androsch, Rene
A1 - de Souza e Silva, Juliana Martins
A1 - Busse, Karste
A1 - Binder, Wolfgang H.
T1 - Generating Tagged Micro- and Nanoparticles of Poly(ethylene furanoate) and Poly(ethylene terephthalate) as Reference Materials
N2 - Detecting nanoplastic particles in environmental samples and biological tissues remains a significant challenge, especially in view of newly emerging polymers, not yet commercially exploited. Fluorescent labeling provides a tagging strategy to overcome this limitation by reducing the detection limit of individual particles, especially for small-sized particles. We present a method for producing labeled nanoparticles (NP/MP) of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly(ethylene furanoate) (PEF), tagged with Alexa Fluor 633 or Alexa Fluor 647. Our preparations used mechanical grinding or solvent-based approaches (confined impinging jet mixing, ((CIJ, precipitation), generating particles with hydrodynamic diameters of 200–700 nm, displaying long-term stability in water of up to 57 days. Stable suspensions with concentrations of the particles ranging from 10 µg/mL (surfactant-free, by solvent mixing) to 5.88 mg/mL (precipitation, containing surfactant) were generated with zeta-potentials from −5 to −50 mV. Characterization of the nanoparticles by SEC, DSC, and XRD showed no significant changes in molecular weight, thermal behavior, or crystallinity via the solvent-based methods, compared to the pristine polymer, highlighting their suitability for producing standardized nanoparticle dispersions. Fluorescence spectroscopy of the Alexa-dye-labeled particles confirmed the successful incorporation of the Alexa dyes, so improving monitoring of their biological profiles of the PEF-MP/NPs. s-SNOM (near field imaging) could identify individual PEF-particles sized ∼200 nm by direct imaging.
KW - Reference Materials
KW - Nanoplastics
KW - Microplastics
KW - Polymer
KW - Fluorescence
PY - 2026
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-655531
DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202500839
SN - 1521-3927
VL - 47
IS - 4
SP - 1
EP - 11
PB - Wiley VHC-Verlag
CY - Weinheim
AN - OPUS4-65553
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Rodriguez, Santiago
A1 - Kumanski, Sylvain
A1 - Ayed, Zeineb
A1 - Fournet, Aurélie
A1 - Bouanchaud, Charlène
A1 - Sagar, Amin
A1 - Allemand, Frédéric
A1 - Baulin, Vladimir A.
A1 - Resch‐Genger, Ute
A1 - Cortés, Juan
A1 - Sibille, Nathalie
A1 - Chirot, Fabien
A1 - Wegner, Karl David
A1 - Antoine, Rodolphe
A1 - Le Guével, Xavier
A1 - Bernadó, Pau
T1 - Programming the Optoelectronic Properties of Atomically Precise Gold Nanoclusters Using the Conformational Landscape of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins
N2 - The rational design of hybrid nanomaterials with precisely controlled properties remains a central challenge in materials science. While atomically precise gold nanoclusters (Au‐NCs) offer molecule‐like control over a metallic core, tuning their optoelectronic behavior via surface engineering is often empirically driven. Here, we establish a design principle by demonstrating that the conformational landscape of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDP) can be used as a programmable scaffold to rationally modulate the photophysical properties of a covalently bound Au‐NC. We synthesized a series of bioconjugates between Au 25 nanoclusters and bioengineered IDPs containing a variable number of cysteine anchoring points. A combination of mass spectrometry, small‐angle X‐ray scattering, and modeling on the conjugates indicates that increasing the number of covalent anchors systematically restricts the conformational ensemble, inducing a progressively more compact protein shell around nanoclusters. This structural rigidification at the interface directly translates into a 15‐fold enhancement of the Au‐NC near‐infrared photoluminescence and a six‐fold increase in its average lifetime. Our findings demonstrate that the conformational plasticity of IDPs and the capacity to engineer them can be harnessed as a molecular tuning knob, moving to a new regime of programmable soft‐matter control over the properties of quantum‐confined nanomaterials for tailored biotechnological applications.
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Custer
KW - Nano
KW - Advanced material
KW - Characterization
KW - Fluorescence quantum yield
KW - Integrating sphere spectroscopy
KW - Thiol ligands
KW - Gold
KW - Surface chemistry
KW - SWIR
KW - Mass spectrometry
KW - Protein
PY - 2026
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-655086
DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202502991
SN - 0947-6539
SP - 1
EP - 9
PB - Wiley VHC-Verlag
AN - OPUS4-65508
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Oskoei, Párástu
A1 - Afonso, Rúben
A1 - Bastos, Verónica
A1 - Nogueira, João
A1 - Keller, Lisa-Marie
A1 - Andresen, Elina
A1 - Saleh, Maysoon I.
A1 - Rühle, Bastian
A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute
A1 - Daniel-da-Silva, Ana L.
A1 - Oliveira, Helena
T1 - Upconversion Nanoparticles with Mesoporous Silica Coatings for Doxorubicin Targeted Delivery to Melanoma Cells
N2 - Melanoma is one of the most aggressive skin cancers and requires innovative therapeutic strategies to overcome the limitations of conventional therapies. In this work, upconversion nanoparticles coated with mesoporous silica and functionalized with folic acid (UCNP@mSiO2-FA) were developed as a targeted nanocarrier system for the delivery of doxorubicin (DOX). The UCNPs were synthesized via thermal decomposition, coated with mesoporous silica shells, and functionalized with folic acid (FA) to enable receptor-mediated targeting. DOX was then loaded into the mesoporous silica coating by adsorption, yielding UCNP@mSiO2-FA-DOX. The different UCNPs were characterized for size, composition, colloidal stability, and loading and release of DOX. This comprehensive physicochemical characterization confirmed a high DOX loading efficiency and a slightly increased drug release under acidic conditions, mimicking the tumour microenvironment. In vitro assays using four melanoma cell lines (A375, B16-F10, MNT-1, and SK-MEL-28) revealed an excellent biocompatibility of UCNP@mSiO2-FA and a significantly higher cytotoxicity of UCNP@mSiO2-FA-DOX compared to unloaded UCNPs, in a dose-dependent manner. Cell cycle analysis demonstrated G2/M phase arrest after treatment with UCNP@mSiO2-FA-DOX, confirming its antiproliferative effect. Overall, UCNP@mSiO2-FA-DOX represents a promising nanoplatform for targeted melanoma therapy, combining active tumour targeting and enhanced anticancer efficacy.
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Synthesis
KW - Nano
KW - Particle
KW - Silica
KW - Cell
KW - Uptake
KW - Drug
KW - Characterization
KW - DOX
KW - Imaging
KW - Toxicity
KW - Release
KW - pH
PY - 2025
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-653596
DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31010074
SN - 1420-3049
VL - 31
IS - 1
SP - 1
EP - 18
PB - MDPI AG
AN - OPUS4-65359
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Sun, Yijuan
A1 - Pérez-Padilla, Víctor
A1 - Valderrey, Virginia
A1 - Bell, Jérémy
A1 - Gawlitza, Kornelia
A1 - Rurack, Knut
T1 - Ratiometric detection of perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids using dual fluorescent nanoparticles and a miniaturised microfluidic platform
N2 - The widespread contamination of soil and water with perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has caused considerable societal and scientific concern. Legislative measures and an increased need for remediation require effective on-site analytical methods for PFAS management. Here we report on the development of a green-fluorescent guanidine-BODIPY indicator monomer incorporated into a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for the selective detection of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Complexation of PFOA by the indicator, which is mediated by concerted protonation-induced ion pairing-assisted hydrogen bonding, significantly enhances fluorescence in polar organic solvents. The MIP forms as a thin layer on silica nanoparticles doped with tris(bipyridine)ruthenium(II) chloride, which provides an orange emission signal as internal reference, resulting in low measurement uncertainties. Using a liquid-liquid extraction protocol, this assay enables the direct detection of PFOA in environmental water samples and achieves a detection limit of 0.11 µM. Integration into an opto-microfluidic system enables a compact and user-friendly system for detecting PFOA in less than 15 minutes.
KW - PFAS
KW - Molecular imprinting
KW - Microfluidics
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Onsite assay
PY - 2025
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-650270
DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-66872-9
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 16
IS - 1
SP - 1
EP - 16
PB - Springer Science and Business Media LLC
AN - OPUS4-65027
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Tavernaro, Isabella
A1 - Rajotte, Isabelle
A1 - Thibeault, Marie-Pier
A1 - Sander, Philipp C.
A1 - Kodra, Oltion
A1 - Lopinski, Gregory
A1 - Radnik, Jörg
A1 - Johnston, Linda J.
A1 - Brinkmann, Andreas
A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute
T1 - Quantifying surface groups on aminated silica nanoparticles of different size, surface chemistry, and porosity with solution NMR, XPS, optical assays, and potentiometric titration
N2 - We assessed the quantification of surface amino functional groups (FGs) for a large set of commercial and custom-made aminated silica nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) with sizes of 20–100 nm, prepared with different sol–gel routes, different amounts of surface amino FGs, and different porosity with four methods providing different, yet connected measurands in a bilateral study of two laboratories, BAM and NRC, with the overall aim to develop standardizable measurements for surface FG quantification. Special emphasis was dedicated to traceable quantitative magnetic resonance spectroscopy (qNMR) performed with dissolved SiO2 NPs. For the cost efficient and automatable screening of the amount of surface amino FGs done in a first step of this study, the optical fluorescamine assay and a potentiometric titration method were utilized by one partner, i.e., BAM, yielding the amount of primary amino FGs accessible for the reaction with a dye precursor and the total amount of (de)protonatable FGs. These measurements, which give estimates of the minimum and maximum number of surface amino FGs, laid the basis for quantifying the amount of amino silane molecules with chemo-selective qNMR with stepwise fine-tuned workflows, involving centrifugation, drying, weighting, dissolution, measurement, and data evaluation steps jointly performed by BAM and NRC. Data comparability and relative standard deviations (RSDs) obtained by both labs were used as quality measures for method optimization and as prerequisites to identify method-inherent limitations to be later considered for standardized measurement protocols. Additionally, the nitrogen (N) to silicon (Si) ratio in the near-surface region of the SiO2 NPs was determined by both labs using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), a well established surface sensitive analytical method increasingly utilized for microparticles and nano-objects which is currently also in the focus of international standardization activities. Overall, our results underline the importance of multi-method characterization studies for quantifying FGs on NMs involving at least two expert laboratories for effectively identifying sources of uncertainty, validating analytical methods, and deriving NM structure–property relationships.
KW - Advanced Materials
KW - Amino Groups
KW - Calibration
KW - Characterization
KW - Functional groups
KW - Method Comparison
KW - Nano Particle
KW - Validation
KW - XPS
KW - Optical Assay
KW - Quantification
KW - Surface Analysis
KW - Reference Materials
KW - Synthesis
KW - Fluorescence
PY - 2025
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-649992
DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d5na00794a
VL - 7
IS - 21
SP - 6888
EP - 6900
PB - Royal Society of Chemistry
AN - OPUS4-64999
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Schlögl, Johanna
A1 - Krappe, Alexander R.
A1 - Fürstenwerth, Paul C.
A1 - Brosius, Amelie L.
A1 - Fasting, Carlo
A1 - Hoffmann, Kurt F.
A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute
A1 - Eigler, Siegfried
A1 - Steinhauer, Simon
A1 - Riedel, Sebastian
T1 - Luminescent Perhalofluoro Trityl Radicals
N2 - In this proof-of-concept study, we show that polyfluorinated trityl radicals with the, to this date, highest fluorination grade can be accessed in quantitative yields in a straightforward manner starting from the perfluorinated trityl cation. The trityl skeleton is functionalized with trimethylsilyl halides to yield perhalofluoro trityl cations, which are subsequently reduced using commercial zinc powder. In this way, we prepare three perhalofluoro trityl radicals and analyze the impact of the fluorine ligands on their electro-optical properties, revealing some interesting trends. In comparison to literature-known polychlorinated trityl radicals, the new polyfluorinated derivatives exhibit substantially higher fluorescence quantum yields, longer luminescence lifetimes, and an expanded emission range that extends into the yellow spectral region. They further display enhanced photostability under light irradiation. In radical-stained polystyrene nanoparticles, an additional broad emission band in the red−NIR wavelength region is observed, which is attributed to excimer formation. Finally, the stability of the new radicals is investigated under ambient conditions, showing the slow conversion with atmospheric oxygen yielding the respective peroxides, which are characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. All in all, our study extends the present scope of luminescent trityl radicals, as the functionalization of the perfluorinated cationic precursor unlocks the path toward a vast variety of polyfluorinated trityl radicals.
KW - Dye
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Radical
KW - Synthesis
KW - Mechanism
KW - Signal enhancement
KW - Nano
KW - Particle
KW - Characterization
KW - Quantum yield
KW - Photophysics
KW - Lifetime
KW - Polarity
KW - Polymer
KW - Solvatchromism
KW - Excimer
PY - 2025
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-647973
DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.5c16418
SN - 0002-7863
VL - 147
IS - 46
SP - 1
EP - 8
PB - American Chemical Society (ACS)
AN - OPUS4-64797
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Homann, Christian
A1 - Peeters, Régis
A1 - Mirmajidi, Hana
A1 - Berg, Jessica
A1 - Fay, Michael
A1 - Rodrigues, Lucas Carvalho Veloso
A1 - Radicchi, Eros
A1 - Jain, Akhil
A1 - Speghini, Adolfo
A1 - Hemmer, Eva
T1 - Rapid microwave-assisted synthesis of morphology-controlled luminescent lanthanide-doped Gd2O2S nanostructures
N2 - Gadolinium oxysulfide (Gd2O2S) is an attractive material of demonstrated suitability for a variety of imaging applications, leveraging its magnetic, scintillating, and luminescent properties, particularly when doped with optically active lanthanide ions (Ln3+). For many of these applications, control over size and morphology at the nanoscale is crucial. This study demonstrates the rapid microwave-assisted Synthesis of colloidal Ln2O2S (Ln = Gd and dopants Yb, Er, Tb) nanostructures in as little as 20 min. Structural characterization using X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, as well as Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), including elemental mapping via energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), unveiled the key role of elemental sulphur (S8) in the reaction mixtures for materials growth. By systematically varying the Ln-to-S ratio from 1 : 0.5 to 1 : 15, controlled morphologies ranging from triangular nanoplatelets to berry- and flower-like shapes were achieved. Doping with Er3+/Yb3+ endowed the nano-triangles with upconverting and near-infrared emitting properties. Tb3+-doped Gd2O2S exhibited the characteristic green Tb3+ emission under UV excitation, while also showing X-ray excited optical luminescence (XEOL), rendering the material interesting as a potential nano-scintillator.
KW - Upconversion
KW - Microwave-assisted synthesis
KW - Synthesis
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Nano
KW - Particle
KW - NIR
KW - XRD
KW - X-ray fluoressence
KW - Morphology control
KW - Raman
PY - 2025
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-647907
DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/D5TC01646K
SN - 2050-7526
VL - 13
IS - 35
SP - 18492
EP - 18507
PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
AN - OPUS4-64790
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Hartmann, Yannic
A1 - El Abbassi, Abdelouahad
A1 - Mayer, Bernhard
A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute
A1 - Müller, Thomas J. J.
T1 - Ester‐Aroyl‐S,N‐Ketene Acetals with Solid‐State Luminescence: AIEgens from Sequential Three‐Component Desymmetrization
N2 - AbstractDi(hetero)aroyl dichlorides are desymmetrized upon sequential reaction with alcohols and 2‐methyl N‐benzyl thiazolium salts within the course of a one‐pot three‐component reaction yielding ester‐substituted aroyl‐S,N‐ketene acetals under mild conditions in good yields. A prerequisite for the concise one‐pot process is the different nucleophilicity of the alcohols and in situ generated S,N‐ketene acetals. The resulting compounds are merocyanines with dominant charge‐transfer absorption bands which are fluorescent in the solid state, but not in solution. In water/ethanol solvent mixtures of increasing water content, the water‐insoluble dyes display typical aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) characteristics. The water fraction inducing AIE as well as the emission color, and fluorescence quantum yield (Φf) of the aggregated dyes can be controlled by the alcohol part of the ester moiety. Encapsulation into polystyrene nanoparticles can lead to a considerable increase of the fluorescence quantum yield Φf to 30% as shown for a representatively chosen dye revealing the highest Φf of 11% within the dye series in the water/ethanol mixtures and enabling the usage of these dyes as fluorescent reporters in aqueous environments.
KW - Dye
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Aggregation
KW - Mechanism
KW - Signal enhancement
KW - Nano
KW - Particle
KW - Characterization
KW - Quantum yield
KW - Photophysics
KW - Probe
KW - Sensor
KW - Lifetime
KW - Polarity
PY - 2025
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-642400
DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202502071
SN - 0947-6539
SP - 1
EP - 10
PB - Wiley-VCH
CY - Weinheim
AN - OPUS4-64240
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Tavernaro, Isabella
A1 - Sander, P. C.
A1 - Andresen, Elina
A1 - Schedler, U.
A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute
T1 - Expanding the Toolbox of Simple, Cost-Efficient, and Automatable Methods for Quantifying Surface Functional Groups on Nanoparticles� Potentiometric Titration
N2 - Measuring surface functional groups (FGs) on nanomaterials (NMs) is essential for designing dispersible and stable NMs with tailored and predictable functionality. FG screening and quantification also plays a critical role for subsequent processing steps, NM long-term stability, quality control of NM production, and risk assessment studies and enables the implementation of sustainable and safe(r)-by-design concepts. This calls for simple and cost-efficient methods for broadly utilized FGs that can be ideally automated to speed up FG screening, monitoring, and quantification. To expand our NM surface analysis toolbox, focusing on simple methods and broadly available, cost-efficient instrumentation, we explored a NM-adapted pH titration method with potentiometric and optical readout for measuring the total number of (de)protonable FGs on representatively chosen commercial and custom-made aminated silica nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs). The accuracy and robustness of our stepwise optimized workflows was assessed by several operators in two laboratories and method validation was done by cross-comparison with two analytical methods relying on different signal generation principles. This included traceable, chemo-selective quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (qNMR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), providing the amounts of amino silanes released by particle dissolution and the total mass of the surface coatings. A comparison of the potentiometric titration results with the reporter-specific amounts of surface amino FGs determined with the previously automated fluorescamine (Fluram) assay highlights the importance of determining both quantities for surface-functionalized NMs. In the future, combined NM surface analysis with optical assays and pH titration will simplify quality control of NM production processes and stability studies and can yield large data sets for NM grouping that facilitates further developments in regulation and standardization.
KW - Quality assurance
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Nano
KW - Particle
KW - Synthesis
KW - Characterization
KW - Advanced material
KW - Surface
KW - Standardization
KW - Reference material
KW - Functional group
KW - Quantification
KW - Coating
KW - Automation
KW - Potentiometry
KW - Method
KW - Validation
KW - Optical assay
KW - Fluram
KW - Fluorescamine
KW - qNMR
KW - Comparison
KW - ILC
PY - 2025
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-642371
DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmeasuresciau.5c00062
SN - 2694-250X
SP - 1
EP - 13
PB - American Chemical Society
CY - Washington, DC
AN - OPUS4-64237
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -