TY - JOUR A1 - Krahl, T. A1 - Beer, F. A1 - Relling, A. A1 - Gawlitza, Kornelia A1 - Rurack, Knut A1 - Kemnitz, E. T1 - Toward Luminescent Composites by Phase Transfer of SrF2 :Eu3+ Nanoparticles Capped with Hydrophobic Antenna Ligands JF - ChemNanoMat N2 - Transparent dispersions of hydrophobic SrF2 :Eu3+ nanoparticles in cyclohexane with up to 20% europium were obtained by fluorolytic sol-gel synthesis followed by Phase transfer into cyclohexane through capping with sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS). The particles were characterized by TEM, XRD and DLS as spherical objects with a diameter between 6 and 11 nm in dry state. 1H-13CP MAS NMR experiments revealed the binding of the anionic sulfonate head group to the particle surface. The particles show bright red luminescence upon excitation of the aromatic capping agents, acting as antennas for an Energy transfer from the benzenesulfonate unit to the Eu3+ centers in the particles. This synthesis method overcomes the current obstacle of the fluorolytic sol-gel synthesis that transparent dispersions can be obtained directly only in hydrophilic solvents. To demonstrate the potential of such hydrophobized alkaline-earth fluoride particles, transparent luminescent organic-inorganic composites with 10% SrF2 :Eu3+ embedded into polyTEGDMA, polyBMA, poly-BDDMA and polyD3MA, respectively, were prepared, endowing the polymers with the luminescence features of the nanoparticles. KW - Nanoparticles KW - Fluorides KW - Sol-gel process KW - Organic-inorganic hybrid composites PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-508668 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/cnma.202000058 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Wiley AN - OPUS4-50866 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sarma, Dominik A1 - Gawlitza, Kornelia A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Polystyrene Core−Silica Shell Particles with Defined Nanoarchitectures as a Versatile Platform for Suspension Array Technology JF - Langmuir N2 - The need for rapid and high-throughput screening in analytical laboratories has led to significant growth in interest in suspension array technologies (SATs), especially with regard to cytometric assays targeting a low to medium number of analytes. Such SAT or bead-based assays rely on spherical objects that constitute the analytical platform. Usually, functionalized polymer or silica (SiO2) microbeads are used which each have distinct advantages and drawbacks. In this paper, we present a straightforward synthetic route to highly monodisperse SiO2-coated polystyrene core−shell (CS) beads for SAT with controllable architectures from smooth to raspberry- and multilayer-like shells by varying the molecular weight of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP), which was used as the stabilizer of the cores. The combination of both organic polymer core and a structurally controlled inorganic SiO2 shell in one hybrid particle holds great promises for flexible next-generation design of the spherical platform. The particles were characterized by electron microscopy (SEM, T-SEM, and TEM), thermogravimetry, flow cytometry, and nitrogen adsorption/desorption, offering comprehensive information on the composition, size, structure, and surface area. All particles show ideal cytometric detection patterns and facile handling due to the hybrid structure. The beads are endowed with straightforward modification possibilities through the defined SiO2 shells. We successfully implemented the particles in fluorometric SAT model assays, illustrating the benefits of tailored surface area which is readily available for small-molecule anchoring. Very promising assay performance was shown for DNA hybridization assays with quantification limits down to 8 fmol. KW - core-shell particles KW - shell morphology KW - flow cytometry KW - scanning electron microscopy KW - stabilizer PY - 2016 DO - https://doi.org/DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.6b00373 SN - 0743-7463 VL - 32 IS - 15 SP - 3717 EP - 3727 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington, DC, USA AN - OPUS4-35833 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tobias, Charlie A1 - Climent Terol, Estela A1 - Gawlitza, Kornelia A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Polystyrene Microparticles with Convergently Grown Mesoporous Silica Shells as a Promising Tool for Multiplexed Bioanalytical Assays JF - ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces N2 - Functional core/shell particles are highly sought after in analytical chemistry, especially in methods suitable for single-particle analysis such as flow cytometry because they allow for facile multiplexed detection of several analytes in a single run. Aiming to develop a powerful bead platform of which the core particle can be doped in a straightforward manner while the shell offers the highest possible sensitivity when functionalized with (bio)chemical binders, polystyrene particles were coated with different kinds of mesoporous silica shells in a convergent growth approach. Mesoporous shells allow us to obtain distinctly higher surface areas in comparison with conventional nonporous shells. While assessing the potential of narrow- as well as wide-pore silicas such as Mobil composition of matter no. 41 (MCM-41) and Santa Barbara amorphous material no. 15 (SBA-15), especially the synthesis of the latter shells that are much more suitable for biomolecule anchoring was optimized by altering the pH and both, the amount and type of the mediator salt. Our studies showed that the best performing material resulted from a synthesis using neutral conditions and MgSO4 as an ionic mediator. The analytical potential of the particles was investigated in flow cytometric DNA assays after their respective functionalization for individual and multiplexed detection of short oligonucleotide strands. These experiments revealed that a two-step modification of the silica surface with amino silane and succinic anhydride prior to coupling of an amino-terminated capture DNA (c-DNA) strand is superior to coupling carboxylic acid-terminated c-DNA to aminated core/shell particles, yielding limits of detection (LOD) down to 5 pM for a hybridization assay, using labeled complementary single-stranded target DNA (t-DNA) 15mers. The potential of the use of the particles in multiplexed analysis was shown with the aid of dye-doped core particles carrying a respective SBA-15 shell. Characteristic genomic sequences of human papillomaviruses (HPV) were chosen as the t-DNA analytes here, since their high relevance as carcinogens and the high number of different pathogens is a relevant model case. The title particles showed a promising performance and allowed us to unequivocally detect the different high- and low-risk HPV types in a single experimental run. KW - Bead-based assay KW - Core-shell particles KW - Human papillomavirus KW - Mesoporous silica KW - Multiplexing PY - 2020 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.0c17940 SN - 1944-8244 VL - 13 IS - 1 SP - 207 EP - 218 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington, DC AN - OPUS4-51955 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kimani, Martha Wamaitha A1 - Beyer, S. A1 - El-Schich, Z. A1 - Gawlitza, Kornelia A1 - Rurack, Knut A1 - Gjörloff-Wingren, A. T1 - Imprinted Particles for Direct Fluorescence Detection of Sialic Acid in Polar Media and on Cancer Cells with Enhanced Control of Nonspecific Binding JF - ACS Applied Polymer Materials N2 - Glycoproteins are abundant on the cell surface of mammals, providing structural support, modulating cell Membrane properties, and acting as signaling agents. Variation of glycosylation patterns has been found to indicate various disease states, including cell malignancy. Sialic acid (SA) is present as a terminating group on cell-surface glycans, and its overexpression has been linked to several types of cancer. Detection of SA on the cell surface is therefore critical for detection of cancer in its early stages. In this work, a fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymer layer targeting SA was synthesized on the surface of silica-coated polystyrene (PS) particles. Compared to previous works, a PS core supplies a lighter, lower-density support for improved suspension stability and scattering properties. Moreover, their smaller size provides a higher surface-area-to-volume ratio for binding. The incorporation of a fluorescent monomer in the MIP shell allowed for simple and rapid determination of binding specificity in polar media due to a deprotonation−reprotonation interaction mechanism between the fluorescent monomer and SA, which led to spectral changes. Upon titration of the MIP particles with SA in suspension, an increase in fluorescence emission of the particles was observed, with the MIP particles binding SA more selectively compared to the nonimprinted polymer (NIP) control particles. In cell staining experiments performed by flow cytometry, the binding behavior of the MIP particles compared favorably with that of SA-binding lectins. NIPs prepared with a “dummy” template served as a better negative control in cell binding assays due to the favorable inward orientation of template-binding functional groups in the polymer shell, which reduced nonspecific binding. The results show that fluorescent MIPs targeting SA are a promising tool for in vitro fluorescence staining of cancerous cells and for future diagnosis of cancer at early stages. KW - Flow cytometry KW - Sialic acid KW - Fluorescence KW - Molecularly imprinted polymers KW - Cancer cells PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-525216 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.0c01353 VL - 3 IS - 5 SP - 2363 EP - 2373 PB - American Chemical Society AN - OPUS4-52521 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gawlitza, Kornelia T1 - Wieviel Schmutz ist rein? Über das Arbeiten im Reinraum JF - Die Aktuelle Wochenschau der GDCh 2017 N2 - Um verlässliche Methoden für die medizinische Diagnostik und Umweltanalytik zu entwickeln sowie Zellen zu kultivieren, ist staub- bzw. keimfreies Arbeiten in einem Reinraum erforderlich. Aber was ist ein Reinraum? Viele stellen sich hier sterile Räume, keine Fenster und Personen in weißen Anzügen und Schutzmaske vor. Hier können die Besucher einen Blick hinter die Kulissen werfen und erfahren, was die Eigenschaften und Bedingungen eines Reinraumes sind und welche Anforderungen an die dort Beschäftigten gestellt werden. KW - Reinraum PY - 2017 UR - http://www.aktuelle-wochenschau.de/main-navi/aktuelle-wochenschau-2017/kw49-wieviel-schmutz-ist-rein-ueber-das-arbeiten-im-reinraum.html SP - 1 EP - 2 AN - OPUS4-43355 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gawlitza, Kornelia A1 - Fischer, Tobias A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Chemical functionalization for quantitative spectroscopic labeling on macroscopically flat surfaces JF - Reference Module in Chemistry, Molecular Sciences and Chemical Engineering N2 - This chapter highlights the application of chemical derivatization (CD) to facilitate the quantification of surface functional groups being an important issue for a wide field of applications. The selective attachment of a chemical label to a surface functional group being afterwards exclusively detectable by a highly sensitive technique overcomes the problem of characterizing low amounts of functional groups on macroscopically flat surfaces. The most frequently employed methods include CD X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet/visible absorption, and fluorescence spectroscopy, as well as time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. Herein, the basic conditions for the different techniques regarding the specific surface functional group which need to be quantified are discussed. Additionally, the substrate highly influences the compatibility of the corresponding method. Because not just the quantification but also the preparation of the desired application is important, a summary of different preparation methods for glass, polymer and gold substrates is presented. KW - Chemical derivatization KW - Fluorescence KW - Surface group quantification KW - Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry KW - UV/vis spectroscopy KW - X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy PY - 2018 SN - 978-0-12-409547-2 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-409547-2.13191-9 SP - 1 PB - Elsevier AN - OPUS4-43767 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Climent Terol, Estela A1 - Biyikal, Mustafa A1 - Gawlitza, Kornelia A1 - Dropa, T. A1 - Urban, M. A1 - Costero, A. M. A1 - Martínez-Mánez, Ramon A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Determination of the chemical warfare agents Sarin, Soman and Tabun in natural waters employing fluorescent hybrid silica materials JF - Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical N2 - A novel mesoporous silica material containing boron–dipyrromethene (BODIPY) moieties (I) is employed for the detection of nerve agent simulants (NASs) and the organophosphate nerve or chemical warfare agents (CWAs) Sarin (GB), Soman (GD), and Tabun (GA) in aqueous environments. The reactive BODIPY dye with an optimum positioned hydroxyl group undergoes acylation reactions with phosph(on)ate substrates, yielding a bicyclic ring. Due to aggregation of the dyes in water, the sensitivity of the free dye in solution is very low. Only after immobilization of the BODIPY moieties into the silica substrates is aggregation inhibited and a sensitive determination of the NASs diethyl cyanophosphonate (DCNP), diethyl chlorophosphate (DCP) and diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) possible. The signaling mode is a strong quenching of the fluorescence, reaching LODs in the pM range. The best performing hybrid material was singled out from a library of hybrid silicas varying in morphology and surface functionalization. The response to actual CWAs such as GB, GD, and GA has also been tested, offering similar behavior as for the simulants. The proposed reaction mechanism has been verified by investigation of other model materials, containing for instance BODIPY moieties without an optimum hydroxyl group (III) or a BODIPY dye with an all-aliphatic counterpart (IV). The latter can only form a monocyclic reaction product, showing much less reactivity as I. Assays with other possible competitors have been additionally carried out, showing favorably low cross-reactivities. Finally, the determination of NASs in several natural waters has been demonstrated. KW - Nerve agent simulants KW - Mesoporous silica materials KW - Fluorescence detection PY - 2017 UR - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925400517303428 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2017.02.115 SN - 0925-4005 VL - 246 SP - 1056 EP - 1065 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-39739 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ritter, B. A1 - Haida, P. A1 - Fink, F. A1 - Krahl, T. A1 - Gawlitza, Kornelia A1 - Rurack, Knut A1 - Scholz, G. A1 - Kemnitz, E. T1 - Novel and easy access to highly luminescent Eu and Tb doped ultra-small CaF2, SrF2 and BaF2 nanoparticles – structure and luminescence JF - Dalton Transactions N2 - A universal fast and easy access at room temperature to transparent sols of nanoscopic Eu3+ and Tb3+ doped CaF2, SrF2 and BaF2 particles via the fluorolytic sol–gel synthesis route is presented. Monodisperse quasi-spherical nanoparticles with sizes of 3–20 nm are obtained with up to 40% rare earth doping showing red or green luminescence. In the beginning luminescence quenching effects are only observed for the highest content, which demonstrates the unique and outstanding properties of these materials. From CaF2:Eu10 via SrF2:Eu10 to BaF2:Eu10 a steady increase of the luminescence intensity and lifetime occurs by a factor of ≈2; the photoluminescence quantum yield increases by 29 to 35% due to the lower phonon energy of the matrix. The fast formation process of the particles within fractions of seconds is clearly visualized by exploiting appropriate luminescence processes during the synthesis. Multiply doped particles are also available by this method. Fine tuning of the luminescence properties is achieved by variation of the Ca-to-Sr ratio. Co-doping with Ce3+ and Tb3+ results in a huge increase (>50 times) of the green luminescence intensity due to energy transfer Ce3+ → Tb3+. In this case, the luminescence intensity is higher for CaF2 than for SrF2, due to a lower spatial distance of the rare earth ions. KW - Luminescence materials KW - Alkaline earth metal fluorides KW - Fluorolytic sol–gel synthesis PY - 2017 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/C6DT04711D VL - 46 IS - 9 SP - 2925 EP - 2936 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry AN - OPUS4-39286 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Climent Terol, Estela A1 - Hecht, Mandy A1 - Witthuhn, Heike A1 - Gawlitza, Kornelia A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Cover profile for the article "Mix‐&‐read determination of Mercury(II) at trace levels with hybrid mesoporous silica materials incorporating fluorescent probes by a simple mix‐&‐load technique" JF - ChemistryOpen N2 - Invited for this month’s cover picture is the group of Dr. Knut Rurack at the Department of Analytical Chemistry; Reference Materials at the Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM) in Berlin (Germany). The cover picture shows how differences in color and fluorescence on a test strip can be easily read out with a mobile device. Two reference spots Frame the sensitive spot that indicates the presence of trace amounts of HgII below the threshold in a natural water sample. This dipstick contains a hybrid material that combines boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) probes sterically loaded into specifically tailored mesoporous silica particles, allowing for ultrasensitive HgII detection through enhanced fluorescence in a few seconds. The applicability in real water samples and fish extracts are also studied. KW - Mercury KW - Fluorescence KW - Dip-stick assay KW - Group profile PY - 2018 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-471267 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/open.201800231 SN - 2191-1363 VL - 7 IS - 12 SP - 932 EP - 933 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-47126 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wagner, Sabine A1 - Bell, Jérémy A1 - Biyikal, Mustafa A1 - Gawlitza, Kornelia A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Integrating fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) sensor particles with a modular microfluidic platform for nanomolar smallmolecule detection directly in aqueous samples JF - Biosensors and Bioelectronics N2 - Fluorescent sensory MIP (molecularly imprinted polymer) particles were combined with a droplet-based 3D microfluidic system for the selective determination of a prototype small-molecule analyte of environmental concern, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid or 2,4-D, at nanomolar concentration directly in water samples. A tailor-made fluorescent indicator cross-linker was thus designed that translates the binding event directly into an enhanced fluorescence signal. The phenoxazinone-type cross-linker was co-polymerized into a thin MIP layer grafted from the surface of silica microparticles following a RAFT (reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer) polymerization protocol. While the indicator cross-linker outperformed its corresponding monomer twin, establishment of a phase-transfer protocol was essential to guarantee that the hydrogen bond-mediated signalling mechanism between the urea binding site on the indicator cross-linker and the carboxylate group of the analyte was still operative upon real sample analysis. The latter was achieved by integration of the fluorescent core-shell MIP sensor particles into a modular microfluidic platform that allows for an in-line phasetransfer assay, extracting the analyte from aqueous sample droplets into the organic phase that contains the sensor particles. Real-time fluorescence determination of 2,4-D down to 20 nM was realized with the system and applied for the analysis of various surface water samples collected from different parts of the world. KW - Molecular imprinting KW - Microfluidics KW - Fluorescence KW - Core-shell particles KW - Droplets PY - 2018 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2017.07.053 SN - 0956-5663 VL - 99 IS - 1 SP - 244 EP - 250 PB - Elsevier B.V. CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-42258 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -